Sweet Home Chicago -?

Well, it's like old home week; it is amazing how I learned my way around this maze of buildings, hallways and elevators in 7 days. The drive up here this morning was not bad either; I'm sure the drive home will not be as pleasant.
We are back at Rush, just passing time until Earl's appointment with the radiation oncologist, Dr. Abrams. Did I really say "just passing time"? Take it from someone who's world has been jolted--never "just pass the time". Once that minute, that second, that instant is passed, it will never come again.
The appointment with Dr. Warren went as well as can be expected. He discussed the possibility of putting in a stent so that Earl could eat & "improve the quality of his life". That would be a fairly minor procedure, with no incisions - it would be installed down his throat & only require an overnight stay. Dr. Warren could have done that at the time of the surgery, but said he did not want to do it without previous discussion, as there are some dangers. Besides, it may be easier to get in if treatments shrink the tumors.
We will talk to both oncologists (our appointment on Friday afternoon is with the chemo oncologist in Chesterton) this week, and may possibly be going on July 12 to Zion, Illinois, to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. I spoke to them yesterday and will call them back tonight. They take a "whole body" approach - including medical specialists and nutritionists. Since cancer is all they deal with, they would coordinate everything so that each doctor knows what the other is doing and discuss options and treatments. I guess we were very naive, but I thought that is what they would do here at Rush. I was wrong. This is not St. Elsewhere, or E. R. If anyone has any experience, bad or good, with Cancer Treatment Centers of America, please let me know. I did find an article on Google about the FTC action where CTCA had to pay a fine for making unsubstantiated claims (of cures). People in (our) situation are desperately looking for "a cure" and think that someone, somewhere, must be able to make it "all better." We know that is not always the case, but we can't give up.
So, after our appointment at 2:30, we'll have:
"Half a tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes (not) and we'll be wearing sunglasses........."
Thanks for a great movie, John B. and Dan A.