Hello, thank you all for your prayers and support for Charles. We are blessed to be surrounded by so many dear family and friends. We will keep you updated on his care and prayer needs.
During the week of May 2nd Charles was not feeling great. His arthritis was really causing him a lot of discomfort and pain. He receives a drip medication about every 6 weeks. The drip was scheduled for May 3rd and was moved to the following week because of supply issues. To get some relief he began a dose of steroids. Later that Wednesday and Thursday he began experiencing nausea and dizziness. The symptoms continued and increased on Friday and Saturday. We attributed most of these symptoms to steroids. On Sunday, May 7th he became so dizzy that he fell and Vera called 911. He was severely dehydrated, and his blood pressure was very erratic. He went to the hospital to get checked out.
At the hospital, an MRI was done to rule out a stroke. The MRI showed three small lesions on the brain. His labs showed a low hemoglobin which told the doctors there was internal bleeding. The ER doctor was alarmed because Charles has a history of melanoma from 2017. He had a full body MRI and an endoscope. It was determined that there are ulcerated lesions in his stomach and a few lesions on his lungs. On May 9th doctors informed us that it was more than likely metastasized melanoma. During the endoscope, biopsies of the lesions were taken. On Wed, May 10th Charles was discharged from the hospital.
On Thursday, May 11th Charles had his first appointment with a radiation oncologist. A more in-depth MRI was scheduled, and it showed 9 lesions on the brain. The largest is 4 cm which is close to the sight of the original melanoma and the other 8 spots are all very small. It was decided that Charles would undergo gamma knife radiosurgery. It is a type of radiotherapy treatment. It is also called stereotactic radiosurgery. It uses very precise beams of gamma rays to treat an area of disease. He will have 5 treatments lasting approximately 45 minutes each. His first treatment was Wednesday May 24 and the last will be on Thursday June 1st. The main side effect for this treatment is fatigue.
He is also under the care of a second oncologist. We have met with her a few times. She is running genetic testing of biopsy tissue from the stomach. When the results come back it will tell her which of two therapies will be the best to attack the cancer lesions in the stomach and the lungs. He will not do chemo! It will be immunotherapy which is by IV once every three weeks or a daily oral therapy. Our target is to begin this treatment on June 5th. In preparation for the next treatment plan, he is receiving weekly iron infusions to improve his overall labs. He is also scheduled for a PET scan on Wednesday, May 31st.
He is receiving treatment with Texas Oncology in Round Rock and it’s about 20 minutes from Georgetown. The care he has received from Seton Hospital and Texas Oncology has been amazing. The doctors are very optimistic and have told us there is HOPE here. We choose to trust God and fill the home with POSITIVITY. Charles is doing well and overall is in good spirits. He is mostly experiencing fatigue. There is a lot here, but we are taking it day by day and spending as much time with him as possible. The irony of the situation is that his arthritis has been pretty quiet and pain free, so this is a huge blessing. He has numerous appointments and testing, so this is a good way to keep everyone informed and all our prayer partners on target. If you would like to send him a prayer, a quick note or card please DO!! He would love to hear from you: 307 Parque Vista Drive, Georgetown Texas 78626 or email at Chas600@aol.com.
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