Driving Mr. Larry

Every third Tuesday we go to the Winship Cancer Center at the Emory Medical Center in midtown Atlanta. Cheryl sits in the passenger front seat, and I sit in the passenger rear seat. That has become my normal seat placement because we can darken the back seat with the pull up window shades on the back windows.  Who is going to “drive Mr. Larry” today? It’s Allison! Our kids decided that one of them or a grandchild would drive us to Atlanta for these appointments because their mother dreaded driving in all that traffic. Plus, they wanted to have one of them listening and asking questions at my visits with Dr. Shin, my medical oncologist, and the rest of my medical team.

After checking in at the reception desk on the first floor of the 18-story building (all for the cancer center), we are asked to wait in the three-story lobby until 15 minutes before our appointment on the tenth floor. All cancer patients are treated in one of the 60+ “care suites.” I always feel like I am sitting in a first-class airplane seat because the seat has six different buttons to adjust to my comfort. Other amenities are a wide screen TV and a private toilet.

We were a little nervous about my appointment yesterday because we would hear for the first time about the effectiveness of the treatment. At the beginning of every treatment appointment, a nurse draws blood for testing. They really like me because I have what the nurse called them yesterday: A+ veins. Those are the big and bold and easy to thread the catheter.  

Dr. Shin came in soon after the nurses were finished with the other prep work—temperature, oxygen level, blood pressure, pulse. He told us that I am in the ARM 2 test of the clinical trial which means that I am receiving the molecular target agent only and no toxic chemo drugs. This agent has been very effective with treating breast cancer, but it is not approved by the FDA for any other use.

These drugs do not attack any cells directly, but they assist in the production of other good cells that will fight the cancer cells and replace them. Dr. Shin reported that there was some improvement in the area of cancer cells alongside my mouth and nose, and that the cancer cells in the cavity below my brain are stable with no evidence of more growth.

Dr. Shin also informed us that I can continue these infusions on the same three-week schedule indefinitely as long as the treatments show positive results. We were so encouraged and relieved to hear this good news.

This may seem like a small step, and it actually is in light of all the cancer research that is going on, but this is a huge step for me. Maybe the Lord is not finished with me yet.