Brandon met Dr. Kluger at Columbia University Hospital in NY yesterday and felt really comfortable with him. They talked at length about the results of the recent scan and what may be going on with the mesothelioma. Dr. Kluger feels it’s not in Brandon’s best interest to do the CRS/HIPEC procedure again at this point because he would like to save that for a time when there may be more significant burden of disease. He feels that with what they are seeing localized on the scans right now, the best option is to remove those spots with a less invasive surgery. He said that he wouldn’t follow up with chemo now either because the best and most effective plan of attack with this type of cancer is to just remove it. (That is essentially what we heard from the M.D. Anderson doctor as well, so it’s good to know those two are on the same page about that.) He said he could do the surgery, but he recommended Brandon have it done here with his surgical oncologist at KU so he would be close to home. He said the surgery would only keep him in the hospital for a day if all goes well, but it might be a good idea to be here where his family could visit/support him if something doesn’t go as planned and keeps him in longer. He put in a call to Brandon’s KU surgeon so they could discuss it, and we will make a plan as soon as we hear back from them. So what we know at this point is that he will have another surgery most likely within the next couple of weeks, but this one shouldn’t be as difficult or debilitating as the one he had in May.

Dr. Kluger will keep up with Brandon’s scans and will treat him in New York should the need arise. He talked about a different technique they use as far as CRS/HIPEC where they do it in two different surgeries. They do the CRS/HIPEC like he originally had and leave a port in the abdomen so they can continue the intraperitoneal chemo treatments for 4-5 months, and then they operate again. Sounds interesting and promising. He touched on some of the new immunotherapies that may be important in Brandon’s treatment down the road. New research is being done every day, so let’s hope they discover an even better way to treat him should he need that in the future.

Keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming. They are helping Brandon in a HUGE way!