New Year Starting

 At @memorialsloankettering yesterday for another round of drug study. The first thing that is done is to get vitals taken and blood drawn.  A nurse, who I had not met before, came out to the waiting area and called me in.  We got right outside of the exam room and she pulled out a plastic bag with a container in it.

 Nurse: “Do you think you can provide some urine?”

Me: “For you? Of course!  Happy New Year!!” 

They start laughing. Bad move.  I really do not need much encouragement.  I then told them they were more than welcome to smack me and tell me to shut-up whenever needed.

We had a nice conversation, which included some joking and laughing as they took my vitals, weighed me and accessed my port to draw bloodwork.  I do quiet down when they are about to stick a needle into my chest ;))

They thanked me when I left, they said it was a long day by then and it felt good to laugh.  

Not all people want to laugh or talk all the time.  But you can usually figure that out quickly.  And it is always a good time when the opportunity comes up to laugh or talk. 

When I get to the main infusion room, I often will get one or more EKGs for the study.  Due to all the IRBs, rules, regulations and sponsors involved with drug studies, things are really tied down tight on procedures.  The study requires a specific EKG machine, which I have seen before, and the sponsor provides specific pads for the leads.  As an EMT I have helped medics put pads on patients in a moving ambulance.  It is rare that they come off.

 But the pads that are provided for the study are, in medical terms, total poop.  They do not stick at all.   It is incredible that they made it to market.  I am not sure if the company who developed these, or the FDA, actually looked to see if they stick. (There was one time different pads were delivered, and they worked perfectly.)

Anyway, despite the annoyance of the situation, it is still kind of funny as the things keep falling off.  I try to help with suggestions.  Duct tape. Staple gun.  Crazy glue.  To date, they have not put my advice to practice and go with medical tape.  Sometimes a lot, as the photo shows (Kidding aside for a second, the amount of time that is wasted is staggering.  Attaching leads should take two minutes.  Not 10 or more.  Multiply that by the number of patients seen in a day. Want to get medical costs down?  Things like this may be a good way to start without adversely affecting patient care.  Okay, off soapbox now.)

Last week I had a scan.  The report noted that my cancer was stable. Obviously stable is good.  But after three scans of nice reductions, I was a bit disappointed.  But was hoping the RESCIST reading (the official drug study reading) would show reduction.  Found those results out yesterday.  Basically, it said no change.  Usually treatments stop working at some point, so I was hoping there would be more reduction so when it stops it would take a longer period of time for the cancer to grow back to the point where it would be affecting my breathing and becoming dangerous.

But the drug trial has shrunk my lung tumors enough so that my breathing is fine now.  I am back to running now that my back pain is in check. If there is no further decrease and it stays here, that works for me.   Another 6 months of stable, or more, buys me more time for the next thing coming down the road.