Deuces!

Hello, and welcome back to my blog. In case you didn't already know... I truly appreciate you being here-sharing in my journey with mouth cancer. My sister recently informed me that my last few blog entries lacked the humor some of the originals had, so just for her, I shall try to step-up my game.

Today has been long and exhausting. It was my last day at work before going on some much needed R&R. I had to clear out my office and bunk to make room for my replacement. My medical appointments are starting to mount up and before we know it, I'll be under the knife. So, for now I will relinquish my position to another until I am back on my feet, ready to conquer the world.

I also had an appointment at the Banner Cancer Center. This appointment was with two medical researchers that wanted to talk to me about participating in a phase two, medical research study. Jessica came along with me, which I always appreciate because she is great at reminded me what questions I had wanted to ask, as well as, keeping all my paperwork organized.

We arrived about fifteen minutes early, which is perfect for me because I hate being late to anything! There was a lot of construction going on, but luckily, it didn't impact us one bit. The reception desk was directly in front of us as we walked into the building. We checked in and took a seat in the waiting room. The inside of the building looked nice. I could overhear an older woman ranting to a younger woman about recent political happenings. I made mention to Jess how amazed I was at how differently Americans interpret information from the media. I was familiar with the story, but had a completely different perspective on the situation. Jess rolled her eyes... she hates talking politics with me.

Two younger gals approached the waiting room, obviously looking for someone. They looked my way, but seemed very hesitant to address me. One of the girls took notice of my uniform name tape. Her eyes lit-up. "Mr. Smiley?" I'm guessing they didn't expect my wife to be with me. I suppose I should have stood at the bottom of the stairs with a sign, as if to be a limo driver picking up a stranger at the airport.

The four of us headed back to an exam room. The lead coordinator began asking me questions, inquiring into what I had been told of the research study. All I could tell her was what the ENT surgeon explained to me... that the test drug was designed to lessen cancer tumors. She went on to explain that the drug (IRX-2) was specifically designed to assist dendritic cells mature and activated T cells to multiply. WHAT? Basically, this drug is like Red Bull for cancer fighting cells. The drug is meant to assist this body in fighting off cancer.

This experimental drug will require me to spend 21 days preparing my body for war. I will spend 11 days taking a series of oral medications and neck injections on each of the remaining 10 days. I will not have surgery until the entire regiment is complete. The hope is that my body will be a lean, mean cancer fighting machine before they cut into my body and begin pissing-off those cancer cells. It also helps my body to kill off any cancer stragglers left behind. Now... the coolest part of this drug is that it acts like an immunization. Once I have received the entire series... all I need is an annual booster and my body will continue to produce higher levels of T cells.

This was a lot to take in at first. The fact that this is still an experimental drug is slightly unnerving. I was given a pamphlet about experimental research studies. According to this piece of literature, Phase II has two purposes: to determine if the new treatment has an effect of a certain cancer and to see how the new treatment affects the human body. Hmm...

I needed to think about it. The gals were very understanding. They offered to allow Jess and I to talk about it over lunch and to contact them later when we had a decision. So... off we went on a lunch date.

Jessica and I went to a local hot spot called Prep and Pastry. It was packed full of people. We waited for about twenty minutes before getting a table. Normally I would have been a little perturbed at the wait, but the food smelled and looked amazing. Once we got to our table, Jess and I began looking over the information given to us about the drug study. To be honest... I was pretty well sold on the idea, but I knew talking it over with Jess was the smart thing to do. There were a few items of concern we noted, but all in all, I was set on participating in the drug trial. The way I saw it... if this had any luck in helping to prevent any cancers in the future, I wanted in! Plus, its like being an astronaut... there is a sense of adventure knowing I'm getting to do something very few humans have done before.

Jess and I headed back to the cancer clinic after lunch. I called the coordinator gals and told them we were in the waiting room. They seemed happy that we had returned and promised to be right down. We were barely seated for three minutes when they came walking down the stairs. We headed to another exam room so we could go over more details of the research study.

There was some small talk about lunch before we got into the nitty gritty. The lead coordinator gal asked us if we had any concerns she could address. I told her that I was a little irritated that one out of every three participants participating received a placebo. I wasn't sure I wanted to invest such a large amount of time into something I may not even get to truly experience. She explained that although I may not receive the MAIN drug in testing, I would receive many other oral medications that have been proven to aid in the cure of cancer. I felt like I was getting a consolation prize, but whatever...where do I sign.

After I signed my life away, the coordinator gal began listing off numerous tasks I would need to complete before they could begin giving me IRX-2. I had to give blood, see ANOTHER doctor, answer the world's longest medical questionnaire, and provide a stool sample. . . . . . .

Why is it I am a grown ass man and still find poop jokes so funny? How does one give a stool sample? Do I use one of those little green aquarium nets to fish a sample out of the toilet? I was so pleased that this topic had come-up. Jess mentioned it to me at lunch, but we didn't speak much of it. As if the timing couldn't get any better... a young man entered the room with a fist full of vacutainers for taking blood samples and a clear plastic baggy with a clear plastic cup and what looked like a coffee stir stick. Now... I've given blood and I've given urine, but I have never given doo-doo. I don't know if the girls found it as amusing as I, but I couldn't help myself. How do I poop in a cup? What if the doo-doo is too long for the cup? How much do they need? WHY would they make it a CLEAR cup with a CLEAR plastic bag?!?! How many people have you seen walking around with a poop sample? Looking at the cup, I could only imagine my days working at Dairy Queen serving chocolate soft serve... I was a ten year old boy trapped in the body of a thirty-six year old man!

I had some blood taken and scheduled a couple more appointments with the coordinators. Right now I am still being evaluated to see if I meet the requirements for the research study. If I do indeed go along with the research study, I will not have surgery until April. If I deny the study, I could possibly have surgery in the next few weeks. The research study buys me some time so I can go to San Diego. I really need to go home... it has been way too long.