We saw Dr Ngoi to see if he could do surgery to remove the tumor. Nicole had an MRI done last Thursday. The MRI shows that there are three tumors. Given the size of the tumors, Dr Ngoi is recommending chemo to reduce the size of the tumor before surgery. So we met Dr Karmen Wong who is prescribing Taxol and Carboplatin plus possibly Avastin - she is planning to give chemo in 6 cycles of 3 weeks per cycle - with chemo week 1 and week 2 followed by a break on the third week. Given that she knows we are not too keen on chemo, she asked us to think about the prescription and then decide. We mentioned that we are are going to ask the opinion of Dr Demuth at Hufeland Clinic in Germany and Dr Gonzalez in New York.
I spoke to Dr Demuth. In his opinion, if there is a need for chemo to reduce the size of the tumors, then he is for the chemo, provided that Nicole does not have to have the full six cycles. He thinks that we would see the effect of the chemo on the tumors after three cycles and if the tumors have reduced in size, then Nicole needs to have the surgery to remove them. If there is no significant reduction in the size of the tumors, then Nicole needs to stop the chemo. I was comforted to hear the opinion of Dr Demuth. Nicole can have the Vitamin C infusion prescribed by Dr Demuth while she is undergoing chemo.
We both have to get comfortable with the idea that Nicole has to undergo chemo again. We know the damage done by chemo but at the same time we know that chemo can kill these cancer cells. We hope that Nicole will be able to support the chemo.
Dr Wong asked us to pray so that we can take the right decision and we certainly put our trust in God. While our spirit was down after our meeting with both doctors, we are encouraged by the support that we are getting from family members, relatives and friends.
This is a new stage of our life journey. The Lord is walking with us.
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