Kel's exact dictation for this was "my husband feels some relief, even though he is in a lot of pain, he feels a lot better. The end.
For those who want more specifics:
The plan has changed. It will no longer be the tandem transplant, for now. Kel will undergo what is called 'salvage surgery' in 2-3 weeks. The will remove the main mass, and all of the surrounding lymph nodes on that side. It will be a long surgery (4-6 h) and he will be in the hospital for ~ 5 days. This will all be in Indianapolis with the world's best testicular cancer team.
Just doing the surgery has about a 30-40% cure rate, although the surgeon anecdotally believes it to be considerably higher with single site disease, like Kel has. Should it not be curative, the tandem transplant is still available. But at this point with chemoresistant disease, there is a better indication for surgery (which Kel has wanted since he first learned that the initial chemo wasn't curative - 'just get this damn thing outta me').
A confident and wonderful oncology team DO NOT SUCK!
Thanks,
T
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