Maybe it is the high cost of ct-scans & PET-scans, and their fear of possible resulting false alarms, that prompts these doctors to choose such lengthy waits between exams. Maybe we should be looking for ways to reduce the cost of these potentially life saving exams rather than infecting patients with a no-hope-run-the-clock-out-attitude in the face of possible recurrence? Not me, my clock's not a stop watch, I'm going down fighting. If there had been a 9-month wait I might be next to death now. But I'm not. In fact, after 2-treatments my tumors were reduced in size 50%. These "5-years to live" statistics out there now are old and don't take into consideration advances in targeted therapy drugs. I think there was a poor choice in giving me bevacizumab(avastin), a VEGF inhibitor, considering my history of radiation treatment. Maybe another monoclonal antibody drug such as cetuximab(Erbitux), which is an EGFR inhibitor, would have been,and still is, a better targeted therapy drug in my case. Don't let them kill you donfoo just because a ct-scan costs too much. Maybe your doctor needs a nudge in the right direction. I didn't nudge mine hard enough.

Now I look back at what I've just written and hope I'm not too raw for you donfoo, not my intention. In fact, you've maybe helped put the fire under me that I need right now. I also see me, a mere circus clown, using terminology like monoclonal antibody therapy treatment. Truth is my cancer education has just begun--it should have begun early 2012 the first time I was diagnosed. No one at my rurally located cancer center explained to me the potential benefit of a clinical trial. They didn't tell me about the side effects I would be suffering through, nor how to better cope with them. That's the beginning of a list I don't have room for here. Point is I feel the need to be better educated and proactive here, even if I'm the one educating me. Last time I just sat in the back seat.

Now the VEGF inhibitor, bevacizumab(avastin) binds to vascular endothelial growth factor and is designed to prevent new blood vessel growth, which tumors need to grow. At stage IV lung cancer I was kind of rushed into making a decision and opted for this clinical trial because I read targeted therapy drugs and clinical trials were the best chance for survival. I want to survive, I have things to do. An EGFR inhibitor, such as cetuximab(Erbitux), which binds to epidermal growth factor receptor and is supposed to "turn off" these receptors and stop cancer cells from uncontrollably dividing and growing, maybe that's what I needed. Cetuximab has been approved for head & neck cancer since 2006. Maybe the clinical trial is not what I needed, and maybe some good advice (not influenced by pharmaceutical industry) is what I needed. What's done is done and I move on.

Now the only mention of treatment for osteonecrosis of the jaw(ONJ) I've had mentioned to me yet, at this early stage, is hyperbaric oxygen therapy(HBOT). Think, "Boy in the Bubble". This can unfortunately increase growth of cancer tumors I was told also. The oral surgeon I met with also talked about chipping away some of the dead bone after my chemo is finished. About 2 more months of chemo would have been too long. It has been halted now anyway.

Still accepting helpful suggestions for possible treatment options.

Ways to bring blood-flow back to dead, or dying bone? Are their certain foods that could help? While I am not receiving chemo, I plan to exercise like a madman as soon as I feel it is safe to do so. Does anyone know if just chipping away this layer of dead bone may have a positive outcome? Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment, any insight?
Thank you.