FEB. 16-17, 2015 - GREAT CHECKUP AT MD ANDERSON

My apologies - once again - for being so late with this update on the blog.  We told many people (thanks to their constant concern) the results of our trip to Houston right away so writing the update kept falling lower on my priority list.  Finally, here it is - All is well; Dave has no signs of melanoma, seminoma, or any other types of cancer!

He has been on a 3-month checkup schedule, seeing his Savannah oncologist every 6 months, and seeing his MD Anderson doctors every 6 months, overlapping so he gets checked every 3 months.  With his clean scans this time, he was told he can stretch it out to every 4 months, and in another year, every 6 months.

We drove to Houston on a Thursday and Friday (the 13th) so Dave would have the weekend to visit with his nephew JB, who works during the week as does his wife Becky. Of course we wanted to see Bobbie and Jeff, but since they’ve joined the ranks of the retired, we don’t have to work around weekends any longer to see them.  Dave’s appointments were the following Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 16 & 17.

It’s a 16 hour drive to Houston; we generally drive about 11-12 hours on the first day and 4-5 hours on the second.  We arrived at Jon’s in the early afternoon on Friday.  Jon, always a gracious host, had made a taco soup and bought black bean tamales, and invited Bobbie and Jeff, JB and Becky, and their children, Bennett and Zoe to come for dinner.  It’s always a thrill to arrive; Jon and David are so welcoming, our guest room is comfy, and Jon and David love to entertain.  We had such fun catching up with everyone.

The hosts with the mosts - and Nico

Saturday, Dave went to a ranch to go shooting with all the Howells, while Jon drove me all over Houston helping with decisions about the renovation of our hall bath.  We ordered a console to use as a vanity, we looked at tile and brought back samples, we stopped at Circa to look at lighting, and finally, a plumbing supply store to consider faucets and fixtures.  Oh, we also stopped at Jon’s office to meet with a client, and, as David had asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I asked for a pillow for my bed, I checked out fabric.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Saturday was Valentine’s Day, and we were feted by a little dinner party Jon and David hosted, cooked by Chef Nico.  What a way to end the day!

Sunday was very low key.  Dave slept until 9 AM - unheard of.  Later, Dave and Jon put together a new grill, then the three of us walked to Whole Foods for steaks and Brussels sprouts.  We caught up with a couple episodes of Downton Abbey - and had a nice dinner for the four of us.  As an aside, we ended up cooking the steaks with a sous vide, my second experience with one, my first was when Nico used one for the pork the night before.  It’s a really interesting concept in cooking.

Since Dave’s appointments weren’t until the afternoon on Monday, Jon and I went to the Decorative Arts Center in the morning to look at wallpaper.  Unfortunately, the wholesaler he wanted to show me wasn’t open.  Later, we met Dave, Bobbie, Jeff and JB for lunch at Escalantes, then Dave and I went to MD Anderson.

Nice grill, guys

His schedule had been changed since the last time he checked it, from labs at 3:15 and MRI at 4, to MRI at 4 and a CT scan at 9!  We did not know this. Unfortunately, when he was called back at 3 (we were early), I assumed he was going back to have some blood taken, and didn’t go with him.  As it turned out, they gave him the CT contrast, which he drank, then had the scan.  Finally at 5 PM, when Dave hadn’t returned, I asked at the desk what was going on and they told me he finished his CT scan and was getting ready for his MRI.  Although I told the desk person he was not supposed to have a CT scan, it was too late, they were just following orders, blah blah blah.  Dave finally reappeared at 6:30. (Fortunately they were able to give him an earlier slot for the CT scan.  Or maybe if it had still been at 9, we could have cancelled it.  If if if…)

I don’t know when the change in orders occurred, or why.  I suspect that because Dave was seeing a new melanoma specialist, (his previous one retired) she or some procedure dictated a CT scan.  Everyone later agreed it was not necessary since he had had one just a few months ago after his seminoma surgery.  But it was too late by then.

My new peacock feather pillow!

It was a frustrating day, but things definitely perked up when I found a new bed pillow waiting for me.  David had it made in one day!  I’m such a lucky girl.

The next morning we saw Dave’s surgeon, Dr. Ross, and he was quite satisfied with Dave’s progress.  He told us the MRI and CT scans were clean, insofar as the only spots they saw were the same as what was seen previously; they did not look cancerous and there had been no change in them.  Then we saw Dave’s new specialist, Dr. Rodabe Amaria.  We didn’t see her until an hour after our scheduled appointment, the first time things didn’t run like clockwork at MDA.  We didn’t get to spend much time with her, as she was in a hurry, but she did confirm that Dave should not be getting more than two CT scans a year.  She also noted it was highly unusual for a melanoma patient, especially of Dave’s age, to get seminoma, and upon reading that, she was quite suspicious that it may in fact have been metastatic melanoma.  However, she said Dave’s Savannah oncologist had run all the tests she would have requested, so she was surprised, but satisfied it was not more melanoma.  Now, where were his lab results?  We explained he had originally been scheduled for blood work but somehow that had been changed and none was taken yesterday.  She sent us to the lab.  That took another hour.  We had hoped to leave MD Anderson by 11 at the latest, but it was about 1 pm before we started on our trip home.

All in all, it was a great visit with great news.  We were fortunate to have clear weather, no traffic slowdowns for accidents or construction, and we were home the next day safe and sound.

Today Dave had a checkup with Dr. Cheng, his urologist.  Dr. Cheng gave Dave a clean bill of health, but did take blood samples to check for markers for any more testicular cancer. We expect nothing will be found!