I’m Perd Hapley and I’m here to announce. . .

. . .there is no announcement.

So yeah, not really much of an update. I had my biopsy Wednesday which started with 2 I.V. attempts coupled with spinning it around in my hands to “see if we can find the vein.”

Pretty much the needles put in me last week.

Also being told to fast and not drink water, then have your morning appointment delayed a few hours to hear “hmm, you might be dehydrated.” You think? Start the damn I.V. and pump me full of fluids please.

Luckily the nurse was able to call in the SWAT VAT team. That stands for Vein Access Team. The new nurse was able to breach my wrist and locate the target- no spinning needed. From there it was only another couple of hours to wait to be whisked up for a CT guided biopsy in the land of Fentanyl and Versed.

**Serious Note** - Be honest with your medical professionals about your substance use. It can effect dosing and reactions.

I was in what they call a twilight sedation which means you’re not fully out but you probably won’t remember anything. Well I got news for you- I remember it all, luckily nothing bad though. Fun side note, a year plus after having my abdomen split wide open, it still feels weird and uncomfortable to lay on it- especially on a solid hospital table.

So other than some soreness for a few days it went as well as it could. Results came back and yes, still cancer BUT there’s more to it. My last scan prior to my most recent was prior to treatment beginning. Now my most recent scan is after starting treatment so any growth could have happened in that window prior to treatment starting and we are just seeing it now.

Additionally we are awaiting some genetic testing as well to see if we can have a clear picture of the genetics of the cancer. This is due to my kidney pathology after surgery last year showing conflicting/multiple genetic make ups.

So the hope here is that when the genetic test comes back it shows a clear picture and could potentially dictate additional or different treatment plans.

This was all discussed Thursday during my most recent infusion appointment:

Infusion went fine- they normally do. Blood tests all look good so no “new” problems to deal with. I have my next scan in early September which should give a better picture on the growth situation. So that’s the new “mile marker” per say. If the genetic test and/or my next scan show something different then we regroup. We did discuss researching M.D. Anderson in Texas. Anyone in the medical profession or the cancer club knows all about M.D. Anderson. For those that are not familiar M.D. Anderson(MDA) is considered one of, if not the top cancer center in the country. I love my oncologist and care team but as they put it “we see a handful of papillary renal cell carcinomas a year. The doctors at MDA are the experts in their respective cancer fields so going there, if needed, would be essentially adding a “subject matter expert” to my care team.

Me collecting more people on my care team.

So yeah, when your doctor tells you that maybe a different doctor/hospital should be looped in it’s not the best feeling but I understand it. I won’t be the first cancer patient to be referred to MDA and I unfortunately will be far from the last.

So the plan is to wait for the genetic test to come back and to see the results of the next scan. In the meantime we will research MDA and lay out what that would look like if I have to travel south.

Mentally I am okay with it, honestly. As I said in my last post I expected this growth to be cancer progression (we don’t know that yet though) so my mind is in a stable place right now. I would also be naive to think that every bout I have with cancer for the rest of my life is a quick and easy fight- I know that won’t be the case. The good news- while I probably will fight cancer progression on and off the rest of my life, the medical and scientific advancements grow everyday. So I am cautiously optimistic.

Well that is really all I got. I will as always keep you updated.

-Joe