Yesterday, Charlie had a follow-up visit with the surgeon, Dr. Jarnagin (I was playing golf), and later in the day, I joined him for a meeting with the oncologist, Dr. Saltz. Both doctors believe Charlie needs more time to gain his strength before starting chemotherapy again. He will be reevaluated in two weeks with a probable start date for the chemo at the beginning of October.
In the meantime, his instructions from Dr. Saltz are to eat a calorie-laden diet of high-fat foods (nutrition be damned) and to do his best to get an hour of aerobic exercise a day. Given his poor appetite, it is not clear which assignment will be more difficult. I have visions of the two of us appearing for the appointment in two weeks with me the one who has gained ten pounds!
Charlie is facing the upcoming chemotherapy with apprehension. Dr. Saltz said the regimen will be changed to the one known as Folfox from the Folfiri he had before the surgeries. A different set of frequent side effects is worrisome, especially that Folfox often causes numbness of the fingers, and Charlie already suffers from Reynaud's syndrome, which has similar symptoms.
