This blog is mostly cheerful but it is also intended to be informative about my health status. I apologise in advance for being a little stark with this current entry.My latest CEA data at the start of cycle 5 (linear and semi-log plots as usual) suggest a continuing reduction in the number of cancer cells. Since last posted, at 16.5 ng/ml, I have had three new data points at successively 10.3, 9.1 and 9.2 ng/ml, though the 10.3 and 9.1 measurements were made by the hospital, and not by my regular blood testing agency, Aotea Pathology, so the calibrations may not be consistent.
At the start of chemotherapy I was 78 ng/ml and so it it is clear that the treatment has had some major effect. There is a suggestion however that the benefits may have "plateaued", and I am unlikely to drop below the 2.5 ng/ml "normal" level.
The response of my cancer to the chemo has been remarkably good according to my oncologists. However, there is absolutely no doubt that this treatment cannot cure the cancer, but only delay its return. The particular condition I have, peritoneal metastatic cancer, is incurable by systemic chemotherapy. The only known option for further treatment is a new type of surgery (peritonectomy with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy) which has been pioneered in the US and which is available in Sydney. I am pursuing this option and once my route becomes clear, I will update you all about the details.
In the meantime, I have to confess, with each new cycle I am finding the chemotherapy regime to be more and more difficult to manage. Increasingly, the nausea, lethargy and a peculiarly uncomfortable skin sensation are taking a toll on me. I am really having to limit work activities to just a few hours a day.
PS: I have just had very sad news from my good friend and former PhD student, Miki Komlosh, whose father died yesterday, after a short one month battle with stomach cancer.
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