Met with my Oncologist on Tuesday and she is very pleased with my progress. There is a thing called “CEA” or a Carcinoembryonic Antigen test which is a blood test that measures a protein marker often elevated in colorectal and other cancers to monitor treatment effectiveness. In December of 2025 it was at 170. By February it was down to 93.6 and at the last test, it was 9.1 – an indicator that treatment is working. Well, session 3 is done. In at 11 a.m. and out at 5 p.m. The cocktail now consists of 4 drugs plus the 3…
FOLFIRI
The Big C – Chapter 4
The weeks keep rolling by in my journey through chemotherapy. After my transition to NorthBay Health and Dr. Powers, she submitted specimens to FoundationOne for CDx testing. They specifically look to see if a patients tumor does or does not have mutations in the KRAS and NRAS genes. Testing revealed KRAS and NRAS wild-type status and a PIK3R1 mutation; “Wild-type” means these genes work normally and are not locked in an “on” position that causes fast, out-of-control tumor growth – a good thing Because of those results, my next “cocktail” of Chemo will change. She explained that she will add…
The Big C – Chapter 3
Yesterday (Wednesday July 22nd), went to NorthBay Cancer Center in Vacaville to start a new round of chemo. In my last post, we were coordinating with NB to see if and when they could fit me in. (God at work HERE!) I did get all setup with NB Cancer Center and Laurie’s Oncologist. We can now understand why the UC Davis Oncologist wanted me to find someone closer. As it turns out, we will be traveling to Vacaville three days a week (every other week) for the next 6 weeks. The shorter drive will keep us from going crazy. Tuesday,…