MOG! ....mother of gawd, that's sick!

My portal vein embolization (PVE) is set and ready for this coming Monday morning at Northwestern. It took a little wrangling to get it coordinated between UNMC and the IR team in Chicago, but it's done. Hopefully all will go well because there IS NO TURNING BACK after the PVE procedure. (That is, after PVE, the right lobe is pretty much being set-up for ultimate destruction!!) After the PVE in, 6 weeks, there will be a CT scan to assess liver growth. After that, I will have the right hepatic lobectomy. My recovery will be long, at least 2-3 weeks of it will be in Omaha. And when I say no turning back, I mean it! Check out these videos of right lobe resections and NOTE the nasty cut they put in your abdomen. These surgeries are for different diseases, but the idea is pretty much the same... freaking nasty and scary stuff. I ain't no tough guy, believe me, I'm more than nervous... frankly, this sucks.

I've been talking with another well know NET specialist in Iowa (Dr. O'Dorisio). We have been talking about my case and he too agrees with the surgery with Botha. Dr. Odo is working with Dr. Baum in Germany. They will actually be discussing my case together in Germany next week. Prior to surgery, I'm also going to try and have an FLT PET in Iowa. The FLT PET is part of study they're doing and I'd like to contribute. At this point, it's not going to change my treatment course, but it might help others down the line. So, I'm all game!

My 1st set of post-PRRT labs came back this week. Everything was normal as expected. Strangely though, my bilirubin levels (hepatic function) were actually in normal range. They have been slightly elevated over the last 16 months. I don't know if there's any correlation to the PRRT, but nevertheless, it's not bad news.

I've been rather tired lately. I'm not sure if I'm still worn-out from Germany, the PRRT treatment, or just plain depressed about having half my damned liver removed. I suspect it's a combo of all three. I feel very confident in my surgeon and the choices I have made in my treatment. In the last year, I've learned a tremendous amount and the journey has been up and down. -It was worth the fight. My only regret is that I may have spent too much time working this last year (in addition to the cancer fight)....when I probably should have enjoyed life a bit more. But then again, I do love what I do and of course, I'm also a bit obsessive. So, the next few months will be dedicated to focusing on my health. (...or at least, I'm going to give that a try, eyh!)...