Seattle, Cancer Update
Leon and I are flying to Seattle this weekend to meet up with his parents, Marty and Ellen. Ellen starts her cancer treatment on Friday, though, so we don't know if she'll be up for the drive from Montana. I suspect the trip will go according to plan, but Leon's parents are making some accomodations for us in case they don't show.
Ellen had a blood test yesterday, and the results showed that the cancer is progressing. There has been a 25% increase of M protein cells in her blood--the protein that is one of the main causes of her cancer and that leads to kidney damage. The 25% increase has occurred within the last month.
I don't know what kind of treatment she is going to start on Friday, but I do know that she wanted to do her treatment with the University of Arkansas hospital. They're doing the nation's leading research in multiple myeloma treatments. But this hospital is not covered by Ellen's insurance. When she came to terms with not being able to have her chosen form of therapy and went to speak with her doctor about what she chosen instead, even her doctor said that she really ought to go to Arkansas instead of having one of the more conventional methods. But it would be $23,000 to get that second opinion.
Anyway, we leave for Seattle Friday evening.
Ellen had a blood test yesterday, and the results showed that the cancer is progressing. There has been a 25% increase of M protein cells in her blood--the protein that is one of the main causes of her cancer and that leads to kidney damage. The 25% increase has occurred within the last month.
I don't know what kind of treatment she is going to start on Friday, but I do know that she wanted to do her treatment with the University of Arkansas hospital. They're doing the nation's leading research in multiple myeloma treatments. But this hospital is not covered by Ellen's insurance. When she came to terms with not being able to have her chosen form of therapy and went to speak with her doctor about what she chosen instead, even her doctor said that she really ought to go to Arkansas instead of having one of the more conventional methods. But it would be $23,000 to get that second opinion.
Anyway, we leave for Seattle Friday evening.