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And around we go again. It’s been an eventful week. Don’t get dizzy now . . .

I had been trying to find a doctor who could do the double balloon procedure sooner. We also have been researching where to go for an expert second opinion, and City of Hope cancer center in nearby Duarte seems to be a good place to explore. So on Monday I finally got a call back from the guy at UCLA who did my endoscopic ultrasound. He’d been out of town. Turns out he doesn’t do the DBE but gave me the name of a colleague he recommends. I left a message. And my internist let me know that he had sent a letter defending the (failed and now un-needed) capsule cam study. Okay.

On Tuesday I heard that the past Friday’s CT enteroscopy – to assess how to proceed with the DBE - was completely negative, no activity visible, which is good –very good, in fact. However, the capsule cam doc who ordered the procedure was now stumped. (Debra has a non-medical theory that accounts for the data: Perhaps there was cancer in my bowel, but all the prayers healed it.) While the gastro doctor explained that this particular scan was more accurate in the bowel than the PET scan had been, he was still concerned that I had originally had a positive result. He consulted with my other gastro doctor and recommended I still have the DBE to know absolutely for certain that that there was no lymphoma activity. In fact, he had met with the “pros from Dover” at Cedars about my case. Tuesday, I also heard that the insurance company has now approved my capsule cam study. At least we’ll see a few bucks back from that fiasco.

With the good news from the CT scan, I contacted the oncologist for his take. I was getting very impatient with the gastroenterologists. The oncologist repeated that he didn’t think the PET reading of my bowel was likely to be significant, and he didn’t want to wait a month or more to investigate this issue. He would rather under-medicate than over-medicate. He recommended I immediately get back into the original schedule of radiation for my stomach – with no other meds. He plans a follow-up PET scan in a few weeks anyway, and if the lower intestine activity were to reappear, we’d deal with it then. I called to leave word with the radiologist.

No sooner had I hung up the phone than the assistant to the Double Balloon guy at Cedars called to give me a procedure date in two weeks. I responded very graciously, thankful for the consideration to jump the line – but told her now I didn’t need the procedure, at least not right away. She was surprised, the implication being that the capsule cam doctor had really thrown his weight into getting me a priority spot. I thanked her again and fielded a call from the radiologist, scheduling their CT scan for – my regular scanning day – Friday. And then I got another call from the DBE guy at Cedars, asking for my oncologist's number. I was happy they were going to talk - and leave me out of it.

In the midst of this, I was scheduling a weekend getaway for me and Debra – no kids. This outing had been on the calendar since before my diagnosis as it marked the end of the Jewish High Holiday season, and I had known months before that Debra would need a break. But events had prevented actually booking a trip. No turning back, I thought; I booked us a cruise to Mexico leaving Friday afternoon. So with the radiologist I was eager to have his scan done Friday morning and know they were working up the protocol to start my four weeks of radiation as soon as possible.

Then I heard from this new guy at UCLA. He only does a Single Balloon Endoscopy (??) but would be happy to see me for a consult . . . I don’t think so. And then we got word that City of Hope also does not do this very new procedure. Okay, fine. They did give me specific instructions on how they need materials delivered to do a second opinion. So we could now get that ball rolling. And Thursday evening I finally heard from my internist, who also had been out of town. In his usual thoughtful manner, he responded to my questions and laid out for me the details of what had been going on in more clarity and specificity than any of the “specialists.” I was calming down.

This week also included acupuncture – and the discovery that the acupuncture place had given me an "invalid" diagnostic code for the insurance. So, while my insurance is supposed to cover a nominal portion of the treatment, I now have to deal with diagnostic codes to satisfy them. The effort may be counteracting the benefits.

Also, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the founder of the Jewish Renewal movement and a colleague of my wife, referred me to an intuitive healer and graciously paid for my first session. It was by phone, and this healer had some terrific observations and sound practical advice. She also offered a number of intuited suggestions and did some distance healing work. I'm putting some of her thoughts to the test. Along with the intuitive healer, there is a nurse in our congregation who does energy work and therapeutic massage. She generously has offered her services to me. We had our first session, which I found very calming. As I said to her in our session: “I’m greedy. I’ll take healing from all the sources I can."

Friday’s CT scan was much less complicated and uncomfortable. I was in and out of the radiologist’s building in 40 minutes, not even having had to fast. I was told my 20 days of radiation would begin Thursday. I filled the couple hours left pre-cruise coordinating the records from all the doctors to go to City of Hope. And then we were off.

The cruise was wonderful, very relaxing and fun, although it’s fair to say I fell off my diet for a couple days. The only bummer was that we had scheduled a couple’s full-body detox seaweed wrap and massage, but, after noting that I had radiation treatment coming up, they refused to touch me as a matter of company policy. I guess you can only get detoxed on a Carnival ship if you’re healthy.

All in all, it was a needed escape from the full-time whirlwind week of medical opinions, scans, and recommendations. I haven’t even included all the events here. I do feel that we are now back on track with a coherent plan that I understand. And I’ll be done with treatment in time to get out of town for Thanksgiving with my extended family. Thanks to you all. Here we go . . .