Ellen, Welcome to the site. Sorry you needed to find us, but hopefully we can help your friend Val. I would suggest strongly that Val get himself to a cancer center right away. Generally, you only get one chance to defeat this disease and if you don't get it all the first time, because it is such an aggressive disease, it will exact a nasty penalty. Val should seek the best possible treatment he can at a center that treats hundreds of patients like him every year. Please urge him to seek expert opinions and treatments at a major cancer center. That is the best thing you can do to help him defeat this disease.