Top of the Docs
Katie, Elizabeth and I met Paul Chapman at the MSCKK yesterday and made the Chicago connection. He went to med school at University of Chicago and “Kathryn Edmiston was my intern”, a year behind him. She is the Breast Center head at UMass and my doc since my 2005 lumpectomy. Her recommendation was “the standard” interferon treatment that involved one year of feeling awful. That is typical for a non-melanoma center’s recommendation, as I found out.

As one of the leaders in the field and maybe the leader at the leading center, his recommendation was monitor for melanoma activity progression using CT and/or MRI every 3 months to see if it recurs – and where it recurs. Then treat with more effective medications than the standard interferon when and if it recurs. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it never recurred!

He had a vaccine trial but did not recommend it. There may be an upcoming trial that will start this spring that may be appropriate. He discussed where my cancer home would be, and thought Dana Farber would be closer and he is good friends with Stephan Hodi and thought he would want the scans done at “Harvard”.
While scanning every 3 months in NYC is no problem, if and when a trial and / or treatment is necessary, the drugs could be administered in Boston. The drugs that are more effective are only for Stage 4 and it would be a stretch to come to NYC for treatment.

What a relief, someone recommending something that makes sense. The trials with interferon were not great, but that’s all there was, until this last year.

Hey, I’m free to be me, for a while at least, look for me on your doorstep to see if you can come out and play, as I continue to travel and expound on left wing radical thinking.

Sidebar, Chapman was impressed that we lunched at Jojo’s. When he commented on the cost, I relayed that the lunch $28 was a bargain for the 3 courses. Thank you college roomie, Margaret Breed for the treat and fun at lunch. I always recommend a top spot for food while visiting the top docs. Ah, the sauces, ah, the subtlety, ah, the décor, ahhhhhhh good food.

Bless you Dr. Chapman for clear recommendations that I can live with for a while.
Ej wants to make an immediate appt. with Dr Hodi.
http://doctors.dana-farber.org/directory/profile.asp?pict_id=0000263

Happy Valentine’s Day to the Farm team
Meg

The staging is complete

The result of the last surgery is complete.There were 18 nodes removed and 2 were positive for melanoma.

Added to the three sentinel nodes that were removed at the time of the original surgery, the

total node count is 21 in the superficial groin. 5 are positive.

I am Stage 3 c

So the staging is finally complete and the oncologists have all the info they need

to make recommendations. Next appt Monday for that.

I hope the surgeon's magic fingers swept it all out, but

if not then interferon will get any of little buggers that may be left.

I also found out that the turmor is BRAF+ which means I can be helped by some of the new drugs.

I feel more optimistic

and as Elizabeth said

"Hey it's just 2 more, you can beat that"

Couldn't agree more.

The staging is complete

The result of the last surgery is complete.

There were 18 nodes removed and 2 were positive for melanoma.

Added to the three sentinel nodes that were removed at the time of the original surgery, the

total node count is 21 in the superficial groin. 5 are positive.

I am Stage 3 c

So the staging is finally complete and the oncologists have all the info they need

to make recommendations. Next appt Monday for that.

I hope the surgeon's magic fingers swept it all out, but

if not then interferon will get any of little buggers that may be left.

I also found out that the turmor is BRAF+ which means I can be helped by some of the new drugs.

I feel more optimistic

and as Elizabeth said

"Hey it's just 2 more, you can beat that"

Couldn't agree more.