Dr. Clayton Chong came to see us in the hospital on Thursday night after 6:30 pm. He had begun his day making hospital rounds around 7am, seeing patients in two offices ( Queens and St. Francis hospitals) and still had a meeting to go to after his visit with us. This Clayton guy is so much more than a ton of clay. He takes excellent care of Jim, gives big bear hugs. He even tells us his dreams of an oncology center, and stories about his life. I would hate to add even a minute more of work to his day, but if any of you ever are in need of a medical oncologist...run, do not walk, to his door.

Dr. Lederer was on vacation giving a talk in Canada this week. We missed him and hope he gets some accolades and rest. He deserves both.

We met with James Conant, our dosimetrist - the guy who helps Dr. Lederer figure out the doses of radiation. He is a big man with a big heart - he spent time with us to give an understanding of how complex Jim's radiation plan has been and will be in the next several weeks. We know that both he and Dr. Lederer have worked late nights and weekends to dial up the right stuff to zap the tumors into oblivion. Drs. Clayton Chong and John Lederer are working hard to design and deliver the very best treatment program to cure Jim. They are both highly respected experts in their field and champions in our eyes. I'll try to get photos of them soon. We see them at least once a week to fine-tune this cancer-beating machine.

I was going to tell you that Dr. Chong is Hawaiian-Chinese, and Dr. Lederer is Haole, but it is starting to sound like intros for a Miss Aloha Hawaii contest...

Dr. Chong is the medical oncologist - he drives the chemotherapy, and we can tell he drives a hard bargain with cancer. He comes to see Jim in the hospital frequently during the chemotherapy... and offers us encouragement, new drugs, his time and his akamai ways.

Dr. Lederer is the radiation oncologist and he dials up a mean program of zapping rays. An interesting thing about Dr. Lederer is that he has interns. (who we have dubbed "the ducklings" because they follow him around exactly like baby ducks to their mother) The ducklings have also been very helpful to us.

We love them both. They are honest and direct, and although they are incredibly busy, they always make themselves available when we have questions, which is often.

I can't remember if i wrote this in an earlier website entry, but Jim observed that both of our doctors have the ability to listen and respond to our concerns as if it is the first time they are hearing them...as opposed to the 87th time that day.

We have great confidence in their skills - human and medical.