The Good Fight

After three weeks of Erbitux treatments, Mark's course of treatment was halted because he was having such a severe reaction of pimples, itching and exhaustion. He had another CT scan and blood work and we returned to the oncologist yesterday for the verdict. It appears that the Erbitux may have shrunk the cancer that was advancing but there are still concerns about what is going on in his lung and the pipes leading into the lung. Mark continues to suffer the side effects of the Erbitux although it has been more than two weeks since his last treatment. He is very tired much of the time and still itchy and has a rash but he has been able to get in some golf and gardening.
It was decided that he would meet with Dr. Shuttari, the pulmonary specialist he saw last summer in Falmouth and be reevaluated and considered for a visit to more specialists at Beth Israel in Boston. Mark had so many bad experiences in Boston last summer that he considers that a last resort. He still panics at memories of the doctor suggesting he have his arm amputated and the screaming "cellmate" when he stayed overnight!!
He will meet with Dr. Shuttari on Tuesday, June 12 and we will report back with further
testing results when they are available. For now, we are planning to revisit Dr. Aviles, the oncologist, on June 29 and decide on the next course of treatment.
Gary has a fantastic attitude about his Hodgkins Lymphoma and is almost half way done with his chemo treatments and has been very faithful in keeping everyone up to date with his blog http://www.gmsheehan.blogspot.com. If you haven't visited it yet, please do so. He is an inspiration to all and we are so proud of how he has handled the business demands as well as the
cancer fight.
Meanwhile, the next few weeks are filled with birthdays, graduation celebrations and Mike & Steph's Grand Greek Wedding in Newport on Friday, June 22. We have much to look forward to and the excitement of it all is overshadowing the family's health concerns.