Hello all - it's been a long week and today we went to Sloan Kettering for an appointment with Michael's medical oncologist. Good news is that he's now 160 lbs - has put on approximately 8 pounds - 4 lbs per week since last visit. She said that even though he feels lousy, that he's doing well. The overwhelming fatigue is caused by some of the residual effects of the radiation (he's now 5 weeks out of radiation) and the majority of the fatigue is depression. Why is that when someone tells you something that your spouse has told you numerous times, that when the other person tell you, your eyes light up with recognition and your spouse says "really - depression can make me tired?" When the student is ready the teacher will appear . . . I guess he didn't like me as a teacher, but at least he heard the words from Dr. Xiou and he listens to her. She told him that he has to slowly put one foot in front of the other - slowly - and begin the process of recovery. She also said that he needs to begin to work on accepting this life style change. He loved to eat, was a real meat and potatoes kind of guy . . . always hungry - could eat anyone under the table. His mouth is healed, slowly getting taste back but he doesn't have much saliva. Makes him not want to eat. She also upped his Zoloft to 150 mgs and wants us to call her in a week or two to let her know how he's doing on the 150. If need be, she'll up it to 200 mgs. When they took blood I asked to have his tsh level check - see if his thyroid is working correctly. The plan is that we go back on August 31 and he'll have a CAT scan of the entire body and an MRI on his liver. He'll have to go on a chemo maintenance program sometime around October - the Dioxil - either once every three weeks, or once a week for three times a month. This is because the cancer went from his tonsil to his liver and while the last PET of the liver came out clean, she said the cancer doesn't go away from the liver - it hides. I'm also going to make an appointment with an accupuncturist. I've read that sometimes they're successful in helping with the flow of saliva.

So we turn another page of this story, feeling a bit more positive and upbeat and I believe he is as well. Thank you all for listening. May God watch over you and keep you well.

Georgette