Uh Oh. The So-Called "Red Devil" Strikes

In a world of incompetent people, it is enough to make you think you're dreaming when you encounter someone SO competent, SO efficient, SO memory-perfect, SO caring, SO hard working, SO intelligent, in the medical world, as Paul, the Head of the Chemo Center in Boone. Paul started working with us yesterday, and in less than 3 hours of work time, he had caused EVERYTHING to begin for Bill, including an Onco-to-Onco phone conference, appointment settings, baseline test arrangements, information counseling for Bill, from Paul himself, and calling us back within FIVE MINUTES every time we leave him a message! This man is beyond anything I have EVER SEEN in any place of employment. He's hard to BELIEVE!

Standing ovation for Paul.

Now for the news: The Onco plan is that Bill will start out with two drugs (there are six drugs planned for the whole strategy). One is Gemzar (he's had before; easy to handle), but the new one, Adriamycin, is nicknamed "the red devil"--as I've mentioned before. It is Doxyrubicin (see earlier post for more info on Doxy, if interested).

[New religion NOT to join: Oncodoxy.]

They had to warn Bill: if a drop of it hits your skin, it burns a hole in it. It also oozes out of your palms and feet and makes them peel. It's wicked. Yet they put it into his veins through his under-skin port. Then, it disintegrates the heart muscle. So he has to have continuous EKGs and if his heart starts falling apart, he stops that drug. He's getting a baseline EKG soon.

More fun with the red devil:  Paul said, "You're not having any nausea problems NOW are you?" Uh. Whoops. It's called Almost Throwing Up 7 days a week from 8 to noon. Paul said that's absolutely abnormal for a year after chemo, and something else is causing it. Bill said he doesn't want to know what's causing it, as he's got enough to worry about already. So they are going to try new drugs for his nausea BEFORE the red devil chemo.

That's because this drug almost guarantees that you will be throwing up through the whole chemo. And lose your hair. While banging up your heart muscle.

Nice.

Poor Cowboy is a nervous wreck today. He has to go to his last set of meetings and student encounters at ASU this afternoon, so he's trying to calm down, but he can't even hold the newspaper, he is so shaky with anxiety. He said he read an entire newspaper article just now and has no idea what it said. He can't even think, he's so worried.

You can't blame Paul. Paul has that job--to tell the truth, so that Bill won't get blindsided.

So today, I am staying home by the phone, and the clinic will be calling and setting things up.

Cowboy, being a stubborn cowboy, refuses to start chemo until after May 15th, so he can finish grading all the essays and portfolios and get the grades in.

No one but Cowboy thinks waiting that long is a good idea, because all this time that tumor is in there shooting out cells. But you can't tell Cowboy anything much. He does his cowboy thing.

If you're a praying soul, please pray for him. If you're an Anything Else, please do what you do for him. He will feel your love, bottom line, and I will, too.

Love to you all, and I will speedily update at the next development.