Chapters 10,11,12
Chapter 10: The Pain Block
Three weeks of chemo, one week off. Three weeks of chemo, one week off. This was our new normal. After two rounds of chemo, the main tumor in his pancreas was smaller. After three, there was no change, after four, it was slightly larger. And six months into chemotherapy, the OxyContin was no longer working. Mike was in almost constant pain in his back and abdomen. We had been given a “heads up” about this at the beginning of his treatment. One of the many strange things they said was, “at some point, these pain meds aren’t going to work.”
We made an appointment at the Palliative Care Center at Johns Hopkins to learn about some pain relief options. One was a pain block. The doctor explained that Mike would lie on his stomach, numbed but awake for the diagnostic part and then they would put him to sleep for the neurolytic block. The doctor would use X-rays to guide a needle into his back and inject the medication. I asked him to say it again, in my language.
”First, I will see if a bit of medicine gives him some relief. If it does, I will sedate him and give him a bigger dose.”
