Hi Mark,

This may not be welcome news, but the first bit of advice I would give is to go with the standard recommendation, Chemotherapy-assisted Radiation. It's a brutal treatment, but it IS the best weapon you have in your arsenal to kill this disease, and you want to knock it out on the first attempt or you are very likely to have recurrences. I've been fighting this killer for almost 5 years almost continuously (I've usually had a 3 month break between recurrences). I'm stage IVc and that little "c" is not just bad news, it's the worst.

While you undergo any of these treatments, please forget entirely the word "side effects" when considering one course over another (if you are offered a choice) and substitute in it's place "survival"

One can lose the use or function of nearly any body part (Vital organs excepted) and still adapt to live a long and fulfilling life.

I got shot 4 times in late 1967, two in the gut (I have both today, one that cut my iliac artery, that one is the the back of L3; the other is in the pelvic cavity. The two of them plowed through my guts pretty and got my liver and spleen at the same time.)

One passed harmlessly through my thigh, while the other went dead center through my sciatic nerve, permanently taking every thing below my right leg off the neural net. Learning to walk from scratch is more difficult than it sounds, but I did so and was back in Vietnam and on the job less than 3 months from the event.

Attitude is everything. Assess what you have left, and adapt it to overcome whatever shortcoming resulted from the event. In over 45 years, very, very few people I've worked with were ever aware that I had a "rock in my shoe."

You can't do that if you don't survive in the first place, and this disease is a killer, make no mistake about it.

Another thing to keep in mind is the your reality, your "normal" ceased to exist the moment you got that terrible diagnosis. Your reality now is that you have a disease that is a killer; and you want to do everything in your power to kill it first!

With all that said, I wish you only the very best in both your decision and your outcome.

Very sincerely,

Bart