Dad went to see Dr. Stadtmauer on Monday, two weeks after starting on the new chemo. He had blood tests, for which we're still waiting for the results. The good news is that Dad's back pain has subsided, which seems to indicate that the radiation has shrunk the tumors there. This means that he can be weaned off the steroids and the oxycontin now, itself a good thing because the doctors believe Dad has developed some steroid toxicity, the probable cause of his muscle weakness and some of his difficulty in climbing stairs and the like. Dad continues to have the weakness in his foot, though, and to use a cane to help him get around. Dr. Pinover, the radiologist, believes that this may be a permanent problem, a result of damage done either by the radiation or by the tumors themselves.

Thanks as always to everyone for your prayers and sympathy. I will update you with the blood test results when I hear them. Mom spent an hour and a half last week writing up a blog post, which subsequently went MIA in the internet ether. Discouraging, but she promises to try again when she gets a chance. Toodles.