Leasing Your Teeth [update on Alison]

I've always considered my teeth as leased from the dentist. Likewise with my body from the medical doctor. I'd come in and get some routine maintenance done; he'd tell me what I need. My teeth belonged to him. He'd say and I'd do.

My perception changed as we were sitting in the doctor's office. This damned car is mine! And with Alison, it seems like we're becoming gear-heads in the home-mechanic sort of way. She is the driver and I am her crew chief. We discover new symptoms almost daily and deliberate solutions. What I am getting at is that our bodies need our decision-making more than I thought. Doctors are a last stop. And even then, they want YOU to tell them what's wrong so they can fix it.

Should you take medicine for symptom 'A' or will it pass? What does this ache mean? Should I get this cut seuchered or should I super-glue it? Okay, well maybe only I address that last one.

I laughed when I saw that book titled 'YOU: the Owner's Manual.' Now I wish they gave service manuals too. What about an overhaul manual? A tickler-file for maintenance? And how 'bout a 'quick diagnostics cheat-sheet?'

All this stemmed from the doctor asking Alison and I what our opinions were for her treatment. If they do radiation, chemo cannot be done. But if they do chemo, the body can repair itself quicker, so radiation could still be an option. Is the Sandostatin enough? He agreed it was not. The doctors don't know FOR SURE which treatment will fix her. And why would they? From the start this thing hasn't behaved properly.

So we've chosen to begin a combination of chemo-therapy drugs (see images below) along with continuing the Sandostatin injections. Tomorrow Alison will undergo a small surgery to place a portacath in her. Then we'll begin. She's also getting procrit, a red-cell booster, and two more blood transfusions tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, the Duke Oncologist still believes that the radiation therapy (I-131 MIBG) will have the best effect, and has submitted his low-dosage proposal (without stem-cell collection) to Duke's Board of Protocol. But that will take time to approve, so we're taking the opportunity to attack her cancer with chemo.