CPT-11 is the real poison for the tumors.  Without it, the tumors are free to grow unimpeded.  Xeloda, as we understand it, is the kicker – it adds the zing to the CPT-11.  But to get the tumors to stop growing we need to get the strong stuff in there and working ASAP.  So this morning, without an appointment, Maggie headed down to The Spa to see if they could squeeze her in.

Unfortunately, they were booked solid since it’s right after a weekend but they implicitly understood the urgency and created a space for us tomorrow at 8:30AM.  So, tomorrow, it’s on again.  Hopefully this time it’ll be a little less eventful.

She met briefly with Dr. Loukas, too, who had been pondering why Maggie’s arm was hurting on Friday.  He thinks there’s a chance that the portacath might be leaking.  So today at 1PM we are scheduled for a dye test where they’ll push some dye into the portacath and track it with a CT machine to see where it goes. 

Of course, a leaking protacath begs all kinds of questions, none of which am I going to give any thought to right now.