Saturday, March 22, 2008

Off to Philly!

On Sunday, we leave for Philadelphia. The examination begins on Monday and its a three to five day process. At the end of the examination, they will present their recommendations and I will make my decision. If I choose to work with them, they could begin the process immediately or schedule me in the near future. If I do decide to work with them, I hope to start the minute after I sign the paperwork. I can't think of a reason in the world to put it off. If I can handle the ever so delightful digital exams (which I've had more than my share of - GodHelpMe!) then I can handle whatever they have in store. I will have a laptop with me, thanks to my ever so generous Mom, so if I do stay for any length of time, I will be able to email, Skype and do regular blog updates.

My understanding is that my treatments at the hospital could be anywhere from one to three weeks at a time. And each time I am scheduled for a treatment, I will be flown to Philly for that treatment.

The reason they fly their patients to the hospital for treatments is because they tailor each patient's treatment program specifically for their needs. It's not uncommon for a doctor at any given hospital to write their patient a prescription for radiation therapy with which the patient then takes to any oncologist of their choice - often someone close to home - and commence treatments. Cancer Treatment Centers of America will do a good deal of their treatments in-house so the cutting edge therapy they promise is followed to a 'T'. But to tell you the truth, I'll know a whole lot more about all of that by the end of this week. And as I learn more, I'll pass it along to you.

And one more thing. Since I am laying off the animal protein - one of cancer's favorite foods - I will not be having a cheese steak while in "The home of..."

6 comments:

  1. Best of luck and we'll be thinking of you!
    -MM

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  2. Dont go looking fo the Rocky statue for inspiraction. The City Fathers, after a couple of decades, took it down, saying something about it not being right to honor something that is not real. This from the same city that has The Liberty Bell and I believe the original Declaration of Independence. Go figure.

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  3. Hooray! It's a beautiful day for travel on this sunny Easter Sunday. As I write this, you're probably on your way to (or already in) Philadelphia. I'm glad you scheduled this trip quickly, so you can evaluate, decide on your course, and keep on keepin' on!

    Your post reminded me of "The Philadelphia," a one-act by David Ives which is part of his hilarious book of plays called "All in the Timing." Check out his Wikipedia entry here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ives. I guarantee you'll get a chuckle from the description of "The Philadelphia!"

    Good luck, and let us know how it goes in Philly! And yes, you do have an amazing mom in Pam! :)

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  4. But you can have pizza now? :)

    If you ever feel well enough on one of your Philly trips, the art museum there is BEAUTIFUL. Art in context in period rooms.

    http://www.philamuseum.org/galleryhighlights/

    Hope all goes well.

    - Jennifer

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  5. I know some girls that don't mind the travel to Philly, if you are interested.

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  6. Bert,

    Good luck in Philadelphia!

    Maria Brown

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