The doctor's visit went okay today. Our appointment was for 7:45 and we didn't leave until after 11:00. So, that was kind of a drag. The doc was very upbeat and he is going to put me on a different chemo cocktail that is pretty popular and supposedly has less side effects. The new drugs are Gemzar(Gemcitabine) and Cisplatin. They will both be given via infusion as opposed to the Xeloda I was on before that was given in a pill form. They are concerned about my Hemoglobin b/c it is at 8.8 and it has dropped from 12.6 in the last month and a half. My physician's asst. thinks it is most likely from all the surgeries I have had in the same time frame. They are putting me on Procrit, I got a shot of it today and I will follow with one shot weekly until my levels rise. I need to do this by July 17th, b/c I will not be allowed to undergo chemo with my numbers so low. So, my first chemo on the new regimen is set for July 17th and these drugs will be administered every 2 weeks, instead of every 3 with my prior cocktail.

Since the "tiny" tumors they found on my abdominal wall took me out of the running as a surgical candidate, I now have to fight this disease systemically again and slow down its progression. The doc says that no stats out there regarding cholangio apply to me b/c of my age and anything is possible with all of the new technology just around the corner. There was mention of radiation, MDACC has a new cutting edge Proton something radiation that is about to take off and will be more precise than any other radiation out there. And there was mention of Erbitux and Tarceva, which are tablet form pills that work if your tumors are releasing a certain type of protein, so he is going to send of some of my frozen tissue slides to see if those drugs may be available as a combination therapy with the other chemo drugs. Basically, I am fighting this thing as a chronic disease and hopefully I can stay within the acceptable range at all times as not to delay any chemo doses and as advancements come along, I am in the best place to take advantage of them.