Hello.
Jim has decided to have Dr Sardi perform the surgery.
We had a good interview with Dr Sardi. He mentioned that he will remove all the tumors and mucin before he considers the operation finished. Also will use the cells to grow in a lab inorder to test different chemo drugs and find out which one works better for Jim (something not mentioned by Dr Sugarbaker). And said that Jim needed to have a colonoscopy so Dr Sardi can see the condition of the colon and to look for any other issues in the colon (ex. additional PMP or other cancers). Said that very recent data seems to point towards a bacteria as the agent that causes the PMP. His IPHC coordinator, Robin, gave us (and another PMP patient, Chris) a tour of the facilities at St Agnes (didn't get a tour at WHC). Unfortunately Dr Sardi was not able to give percentages like Dr Sugarbaker. Was a bit conservative on his diagnosis. Definitely said that Jim had PMP and that he could do something about that. But specifics on reoccurance or quality of life projections couldn't be made until after the surgery, when he will know which kind of PMP Jim had. (I used had because I'm being hopeful, since it will be after the surgery)
After our appointment on Wed (3/30/05), we had decided to ask a few more questions of Dr Sugarbaker and Dr Sardi. Jim emailed Robin, Dr Sardi's IPHC coordinator, and I called Dr Sugarbaker's office. Jim's questions were more regarding the insurance coverage [covered by BCBS], the number of PMP surgeries performed [was not specific, but have done many], and the success rate [>47% for all surgeries, higher percentage for PMP specific surgeries]. I asked Ilsa (Dr Sugarbaker's wife and point of contact) about whether they thought a colonoscopy was needed [not needed, they don't look for any other problems outside the PMP], did they "type" the cancer and figure out which chemo drug worked best [no, could do that for an extra charge - not covered by insurance], what were the research topics that Dr Sugarbaker was investigating [improvement on the surgerical procedure], and did they think a second opinion was necessary [no, they don't usually suggest one]. Ilsa also said that complete removal of the tumors and mucin was more important than the actual type of PMP. Based on these answers and impressions of both surgeons, Jim decided on Dr Sardi.
So his surgery has been scheduled for April 19th. I'm taking that whole week off and his family will come down Mon through Wed... Now all Jim needs to do is get the colonoscopy and try not to think of the surgery. Fortunately his birthday is April 11th, so maybe I can distract him with that for now... : )
