Viva Las Vegas

This last weekend held a very quick trip to Las Vegas for me with a stopover in St. George. It was quick but enjoyable! My dad needed to drive down on Sunday to meet with his oncologist on Monday and my mom couldn't go with him (it was a somewhat spur-of-the-moment appointment). I thought, I can miss work on Monday...I'll go! So I did. It was very nice to be able to switch off driving and I had a great time just chatting with my dad the whole way there and most of the way back. Plus, I got to meet Dr. Vogelzang and see where my dad has been going for his appointments and treatments for the last long while (two years now?) Even though it was a super short trip and the driving was tiring, I'm really really glad I was able to go.

I don't know what exactly I was expecting from the treatment center but this wasn't it. I think I was picturing something smaller because my dad has gotten such great one-on-one attention from his doctor and the nurses there. When we walked in the building, I was very surprised at how big it was and how crowded. I also had a small moment of shock as I realized that every person there was there because of cancer. It was only a short moment though, and in the next moment I realized that that meant I had a kinship with them all. It was a little surreal that way.


As a side note, this trip was to get my dad set up for a new clinical trial for a radioactive pharmaceutical drug that's actually really interesting. It mimics the shape of calcium so the bones suck it in to help repair the cancer damage, then the drug emits a strong but short radioactive wave (so it doesn't do damage to the healthy bone) that both fights the cancer and helps with pain. Kinda cool, right?


The other cool thing about this trip is that I got to see firsthand my dad's extensive knowledge of the road between here and Las Vegas. He knew where all the gas stations with the best bathrooms were and knew exactly where they were, which exits, which side of the road, etc. I kept telling him he needs to write it all out - this is invaluable information!