July 17, 2024
Dr. N called David today and explained that the tumor board did not recommend additional liver surgery. He said they looked at the scans and recommended going back to chemo and looking at clinical trials. We never expected surgery was an option until Dr. N wanted to present the case again, so we were disheartened over losing an option but not surprised. The board also recommned another PET scan. A regular one this time without the Dotatate radiotracer. The last regular PET David had was in September 2023. He had two PETs with Dotatate since then.
As we already know, the chemo protocol was not effective, and it appeared that David developed refractory disease during the last rounds. We were already told by Dr. B he had given him the strongest protocol he had. This really sucks because the systematic treatment is what David’s body needs to try and manage any microscopic disease that most likely is lurking. I called and left a message for Dr.K (Interventional Radiologist) to ask about proceeding with more ablation and/or Y90.
July 18, 2024
Dr. K called David this morning and said he was ready to move forward with his initial plan following the scans. He explained that tumor boards are made up of doctors from all sorts of backgrounds and having that input can be helpful, but many times, the treating physicians aren’t on the call and so cannot weigh in on the current and past treatment plans. He said he had intended to join the call this past Friday but he had a procedure run long. The board explanation made a lot of sense with the recommendation for more chemo and clinical trials. He said he read the notes from the discussion, and he felt based on David’s current health, tolerance and young age, he thinks he can continue with the plan for Y90 mapping and ablation. A scheduler called later this afternoon and the Y90 mapping will be on August 12. Dr. K had told David he would be prepared to ablate a few other spots at the same time if possible. These would be cryoablations using extreme cold instead of heat.
David and I both felt a bit better knowing we could still proceed with a treatment option. We plan to discuss clinical trial options with Dr. B at the visit on July 26.
We were also able to schedule a PET scan for August 16.