12 Days Post-Op

Today I had my follow-up appointment with Dr. Felix.  I never cease to be amazed at the way communications seem to fail. When I made this appointment, Dr. Felix wanted me to get a CBC. His office was supposed to fax a request to Dr. Flam's lab. When I arrived at Dr Flam's lab this morning to get my blood drawn, nobody had the request. They drew the blood  and did the studies in any event.  I requested that the report be faxed it to Dr. Felix's office. When I arrived for my appointment at 1:45 PM, of course, the results which take about 5 min. to obtain, were unavailable. I also learned from Dr. Felix that he had to read the path report on my blog. It was never sent to him from the hospital. Chalk one up for the universal medical record.
When the result was finally available, it turns out that my hemoglobin was 11.5 g. This is a substantial improvement from 8 g when I left the hospital.
All of the incisions on my abdominal wall are healing well. There are no stitches to remove, and I will be able to finally wash my abdomen with soap. Of interest is that although the pathology report suggested the tumor reached the serosa  (outer lining) of the small bowel, Dr. Felix thinks that this is a result of the surgery. When the tumor is removed, it is actually placed within a plastic bag and then pulled through the incision. This trauma damaged the outer surface of the specimen, which showed no gross evidence of tumor infiltration at the time of surgery.
My apologies to Dr. Felix. I reported that the incision was about 6 cm in length. Actually, the measurement is 4.5 cm.
My next step will be to confer with Dr. Nghiem  and with Dr. Flam about chemotherapy. The more I read about it, the more terrified I become.
Here is a link to Cisplatin side effects




These are the less common Cisplatin side effects (occurring in 10-29%) for patients receiving Cisplatin:
Peripheral neuropathy: Although less common, a serious side effect of decreased sensation and paresthesia (numbness and tingling of the extremities) may be noted. Sensory loss, numbness and tingling, and difficulty in walking may last for at least as long as therapy is continued.  Neurologic effects may be irreversible.
High frequency hearing loss.  Ringing in the ears.
Loss of appetite
Taste changes, metallic taste
Increases in blood tests measuring liver function.  
Death from the therapy in about 2% of patients.



The following Cisplatin side effects are common (occurring in greater than 30%) for patients receiving Cisplatin:
Nausea and vomiting. Nausea may last up to 1 week after therapy. Anti-nausea medication is given before the infusion, and a prescription is also given for use after.
Kidney toxicity.  Effects on kidney function are dose related, observed 10-20 days after therapy, and are generally reversible.
Blood test abnormalities (low magnesium, low calcium, low potassium)
Low white blood cells (this may put you at increased risk for infection)
Low red blood cells (anemia)


This will be a major undertaking and I will have to balance the potential gain with the risks of spending my remaining days in misery.


I would be very much interested in hearing from people who have undergone the treatment as to in their personal experience, it was worthwhile.