Pathology couldn’t see any cracks or breaks on Lori’s ribs, so that is good news. Mostly, I’m just relieved that she doesn’t have ribs as frail as they seemed. It would be nice to know, however, what is causing her added pain (she can feel it through the morphine). The May 13 full bone scans and MRI may show us more.

Also, I spoke to the MDA rep who works most of the military patients. She was very helpful and confirmed everything we’ve heard from Dr. S and read online about clinical trials. I plan to set up the Dr. to Dr consult just for some added peace of mind. We know that MDA will not consider her for any trials until she has shown sustained progress under chemo. Although I couldn’t speak to an oncologist at MDA directly, I’m happy with the way things are going so far. Once we’ve finished her third series of chemo, we’ll likely visit MDA to have Lori tested/diagnosed again. Or, if Dr S recommends another location (remember he likes the Dana-Farber group), we may consider that. We don’t just want the best; we want the best for Lori’s specific needs. That may or may not be MDA.

I can’t remember what I’ve written about Dr S, but one of my favorite things about him is his character. In our first meeting with him, he talked about his mentor and how his HUMILITY was the thing he admired most about him. That really stood out to me. It wasn’t his mentor’s smarts or his acclaim; it was his humble approach to oncology and patient care.

I think Dr S is an excellent oncologist in the medical sense, but I like him most because he has often said that he will always have Lori’s best interest in mind. When we need to be somewhere else, he’ll push us there. I see him as her Dr but perhaps more importantly as our advisor through this process. We’ll still seek the second opinion, but the timing needs to be right…not necessarily right now.