NOT EXACTLY A VACATION

Jon has been in the hospital in Tijuana, Mexico five days now and is noticing some mild improvements. He eats three meals a day, and although it takes him a long time to get it all down, he eats everything they serve. He has cut his pain medication doses more than half and hopes to be off completely within another four days. The pain in the shoulder is quite persistent but he reports it is nothing like last week. The pain had gotten so bad like a knife being thrust into his shoulder and twisted, but now it only feels like a knife just cutting his skin. He sleeps a lot which gives his body the time it needs to heal.

The heat treatments to the liver are given every day, even today. This is in addition to continuous IV feeding of nutrients, antioxidants, elixir and herbs to help with inflammation. Just a little information on the hyperthermia, the machine looks much like an x-ray with a box at the end of a long arm. The box is placed over the liver and microwaves are used with use of computer. The machine is at another location outside the hospital where they actually transport Jon to conduct the heat treatment. The building has no air conditioning so with the window and door open, he appreciates the cross-breeze of air because the heat to the liver actually heats up his whole body and is quite uncomfortable.

The doctor explained that the tumors are literally "exploding" or popping as opposed to shrinking. The debris left over is washed out of the system as part of the IV feeding to the blood. This is not the case with all the tumors because he had a few that were the size of tennis balls. These will only shrink and die and actually become scar tissue in the liver. The effects of the heat treatments will not show up for eight weeks on a CT scan. Since we have a standing referral at UC San Francisco, we will follow up with a liver specialist there. It will be very interesting to see the new CT scan and the look on the doctor's face as he shakes his head in amazement.