This Week: Getting More Info

This weekend we were able to center ourselves quite a bit.

Based on (a) the conversation with Dr. W (our quarterback), on Friday who - when Matt asked what he, the dr., thought his survival rate really should be - said 65% but also concurred with the Univ team's categorization of stage 4 (and also that the node was total cancer), combined with (b) a chat with our physician friends in Utah (with a good ENT friend) who said they just couldn't understand how the facts combined have turned so gloomy, we are clearer about what other questions we want to ask, and not feeling so depressed.

We are thinking we will return to Dr. H (Methodist radiation-oncologist) to ask the same questions as we did at the U of MN, as well as for sure we want to talk to an ENT oncologist, maybe even down at Mayo. Matt is so young and healthy and the single tumor/infected node so 'solo' that the Univ. team's take on it all just didn't seem to fit. So this week and next (which includes the PET scan, one week from today!) will be focused on better understanding the variables and the odds. We will see what else we can learn, and get a few more opinions - and share it out with you all.

Thanks again for all the calls, supportive emails and more. Gosh it REALLY helps, Matt as well as Cathy. :-)

P.S. Hey if anyone knows someone who has gone through head-neck radiation and/or chemotherapy and is willing to talk about it, especially someone who may have lost their salivary glands, Matt would really love to talk to that person. Let us know if you know anyone? Thanks.