Brandon had an appointment with his medical oncologist prior to chemo yesterday, and he reinforced what the surgical oncologist said about the CT scan results. Basically, nothing looks to have grown and some aspects look to be less in volume, so he doesn’t see any progression of disease. He said the main focus right now is for Brandon to gain some weight because he could begin to develop further complications from being underweight/malnourished. Since his appointment last week, Brandon has added some protein shakes to his daily diet. And he didn’t lose any weight in the last week, so that was a positive. The doctor urged him to increase his daily intake of the protein shakes and eat more small meals throughout the day. Brandon has finally found a protein shake he thinks he can tolerate, so we’re hopeful that he will be able to drink several more of those each day. With Brandon being sedentary most of the time, it was surprising to hear the doctor say his body is burning 2,000-3,000 calories a day fighting this disease .

Today didn’t start out so well. He did drink two shakes this morning, but he wasn’t able to keep them down. We’re hopeful that the post-chemo symptoms will subside soon and he will be able to not only take in more calories but actually keep them down. The doctor will see him again in three weeks and make the decision on putting him back on TPN (IV nutrition), depending on his weight at that time. Brandon really does not want to go back on TPN. Please say a prayer that he can gain some weight, which in turn should increase his energy levels.