Day 215, Year 9: Call from Mark’s Surgeon and a Visit from Friends
Date: Saturday, May 24, 2014
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Windy, High Near 70 (but felt cooler with the wind)
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Massachusetts
Mark and I spent the morning together on Windbird which doesn’t seem to be a common occurrence these days due to work schedules. But even though we were home, we were working! Mark was working on his consulting job and I was cleaning ‘house’. I’ll have to continue working on that tomorrow as just after noon our friends Tom and Detta Porat arrived. They drove down for the day from New Hampshire. We took them to Woods Hole for lunch and to see Heather, Jed, and boys who were there for May Fest. Then we returned to Quissett and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on Windbird. Mark and Tom took out the watermaker to inspect it. We ran it in the morning and it was working, but was overheating. They didn’t really find any particular problems, so we will wait for the rebuild kit to arrive in the mail and will continue that project then. Tom went up the mast for us and installed boots on the ends of the top spreaders. It was the first time he has ever gone up a mast and when he got down his knees were shaking. Hanging up high and reaching out to the ends of the spreaders is not an easy job and Mark really appreciated Tom’s offer to do it for him. We then just sat and talked and ate and drank the evening away. We tried to talk them into spending the night, but sometime after 9 pm they headed home. Their daughter Sarah is home from college and their son Matthew is coming home to tomorrow morning, so Detta felt the need to get home to do those things mom do. So even though we had a short time together, it was great to see them and catch on what has been going on in our lives over the winter. Sure wish New Hampshire was just a bit closer. It takes almost three hours to drive there, so it is not an easy one day trip.
Mark called his surgeon, Dr. Sylla, on Friday and was told that she was in surgery all day and would return his call on Monday. But to our delight, she called yesterday morning. She explained that she has reviewed all of the information forwarded to her by the oncologists and their team and has met with her team of doctors. Their assessment is the same as the oncologists. Traditional surgery to remove the cancerous tumor is just not safe. Dr. Sylla’s assessment is that the tumor is too close to the pancreas and still too close to the three main veins that feed the small intestines. If those veins were damaged in surgery, you could lose the use of the small intestines and the risk is just not worth it. She explained that the new procedure recommended by the oncologists is so new that she has not seen it done, but that there are two doctors in Boston that do this and one happens to be on her team and feels that Mark is the perfect candidate for ‘this’. Mark has yet to ask any of the doctors to explain the details of the procedure so we really don’t know exactly what ‘this’ is that is being recommended. We know it is some sort process that can totally destroy the tumor, but we will have to wait until Tuesday when we meet with the new surgeon at 1 pm to find out the details. Her name is Cristina Ferrone and when I looked up her credentials I find that one of her specialties is Immunologic Treatment of Solid Tumors. This is a totally different procedure than the ablation procedure which we have been assuming was the recommendation. Needless to say, we are very anxious for Tuesday’s meeting.
 |
| 140524 Day 215 Cape Cod, USA–Tom and Detta Visit |
