08/16/06

Today we went to UAB to meet with the team of doctors that will be in charge of Joes treatment. They have determined that the primary source of the cancer is in the tonsil and the secondary is in the lymph node. The cancer is Stage 4 and has progressed to far to perform surgery because the surgery would be to radical. Joe is going to the Oncologist tomorrow and have a CT scan done and then they will make a mask for the radiology treatments. The Oncologist will take about 7 to 10 days to set up everything for the treatments. Even thought he will have to wait another week to begin treatment we feel confident in the decision to switch to UAB. The plan is to do a Loading dose of Chemo on the 23rd and then start radiation the following week. It will be a 7 to 8 week process at UAB instead of 16weeks at Brookwood. They have also switched his pain medication to a stronger dose so he will be able to sleep better at night. They gave him some magical mouthwash today and he swallows 2 teaspoons, rinses his mouth out and waits 20 minutes before eating. This worked great at supper tonight, the numbness lasted about and hour. Hope everyone is having a great week!
Love,
Crystal