June 13, 2007 -- The Oncologist

So today we went to the new Cancer Center in our town. A very nice $53M facility in a town of 30,000 people. Dr. Catherine O'Brien will be my dads main point of contact for his chemotherapy. She is based in Salem, but works 4 days a week here in Mac. She was very good. She started at the beginning and we walked each other through the time line of my dad's illness -- from March through today. She explained the chemotherapy process.

Once a week (Monday) he'll go to the Cancer Center and spend about 4-6 hours getting IV Chemotherapy. After the in-hospital treatment, he'll get a 48 hour chemotherapy pump that he'll wear like a fanny pack. This pump continuously pumps the medicine into his system. On Wednesday he returns to the Center to get the pump removed. Then he doesn't do any therapy for 10 days -- so his Chemo is every other Monday.

The doctor says he can return to work whenever he feels up to it. He says he'll go back the week after the forth of July. He's off on Mondays, will work on Tuesday full day, work most of the day Wednesday (then go get his pump removed), then work Thursday and Friday.

The doctor was very honest about side effects. Some nausea will present itself in a few weeks (evidently it is a cumulative problem). She is very accommodating with anti-nausea and pain medication. We also asked her whether it would make sense to do chemotherapy (ie, will his life be 6 months with chemo, but 5 months without). I believed her when she said she tells people not to take chemo if the quality of life isn't there. She also said she tells people when she thinks they should quit, but leaves all decisions up to the patient and family. She said she has seen people with my dad's condition -- in the same stage -- live perfectly fulfilling lives for 6-24 months.

6 months? That's Christmas. Is that accurate?

My dad was excited in the car. He said his goal is to last at least until March 2009. He wants to make sure that the recently increased life insurance is past the cancellation period. He is very concerned about my mom's well being.

Oregon has a very liberal socio-political climate. My dad said when he gets to the point where the chemo isn't preserving his quality of life, he will exercise his right as an Oregonian -- Doctor Assisted Suicide. I'm very proud to be from a state where this is legal. I'm a firm believer that people have the right to die -- but when I think about my dad, it's almost unfathomable. When he gets to the point when he is in pain and unable to continue -- he should definitely have all options on the table.

Afterwards we went to the Casino -- to perk up my dad a bit more. Food was good, I lost $100 at Craps -- we were all a little down after that.