Hello, hope everyone's enjoying these lovely autumn days! Just wanted to write about our trip to Sarah Cannon Cancer Center. So me, dad and gwen drove to Nashville tuesday night and had a great time staying with Lauren, Dillon, and Adrian. The next day we headed over to Sarah Cannon Cancer Center, where the waiting room was much smaller than at the other center, and the wait wasn't as long. We met with a gastroinestinal oncologist, Dr. Anthony Greco. He had a really great bedside manner, looked my dad in the eyes when he spoke to him, and overall, connected with my dad well. He is one of the directors of the centers, and is very knowledgable of the newest clinical trials for pancreatic cancer and is up to date with other successful treatments. He recommended my dad take the chemotherapy drug Gemzar (gemcatibine) and the pill Tarceva. Gemzar is supposedly a milder form of chemotherapy, with less severe side effects, which he will get an injection of once a week, for three weeks in a row. The pill Tarceva he will take every day, and we're told it also has mild side effects, so that was very good news. The combination of both drugs have been proven successful in Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer, and DR. Greco feels that it could only benefit and ensure dad to be cured of his Stage III cancer. This treatment option is different from the one we got from West Clinic, which was to use Gemzar and 5-FU. 5-FU is more invasive and Dr. Greco feels that it isn't necessary. Both treatments are for the next 5 to 6 months. On November 4th, we head back to Nashville for dad to get a CT scan. Depending on the results from that, we will decide the definite course of action for his treatment and when he will get started on it.
Sorry for the brief post, I will try to keep this up to date and more detailed! Take Care everyone!
-Kate
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