Welcome to the Big Top -- Step Right Up!

Today is the big day, the dendritic cell injection. It's the main reason I'm here (and it's also the most expensive treatment of the visit!)

The prelude is an acupuncture treatment, to prevent further lower back pain like I had yesterday. Dr. Thaller's acupuncture is unlike any that I've received in the States. There are the normal needles (in great profusion!), but there is also a steel cylinder that sounds (and feels!) almost like a staple gun -- he lines up the cylinder with a particular point, and then BAM! -- a spring-loaded tip slightly punctures my skin and infuses it with a homeopathic solution. It doesn't really hurt, but it does pound me with some force; I have to focus clearly in order to maintain my balance.

Afterwards I have a relatively light fevertherapy -- nothing like the reaction that I had yesterday, thanks to the acupuncture.

At the end of the day comes the main event, the dendritic cell injection. Dendritic cells that have been prepared from my own white blood cells (which were collected on a previous visit) are injected into both of my shoulders. Dr. Thaller has an intense focus while he's doing the injections: he seems completely at one with his needle, and his motions are a completely fluid dance around both of my shoulders. He makes about 10 injections into each shoulder, varying the location and the length of the shot each time he goes in with the needle. It's strangely ritualistic -- and when it's over, we both look at each other as if to acknowledge the completion of the ritual.

There's one additional bit to take care of, though: the injection of a dose of immature dendritic cells directly into my prostate. This dose has been prepared differently from the previous dose, and is keyed on the cells finding cancer cells that have been previously marked by the Newcastle Disease Virus that I have been taking.

I never get used to these direct prostate injections. They are only 10 seconds long, but they are supremely uncomfortable, and in addition there is a roulette effect at work. Depending on whether the needle hits one of the several nerve bundles that go through the prostate (and depending on what angle at which it hits), I can get a severe jolt of pain. Unfortunately, this effect is completely unpredictable. And today I get a small version of this jolt. Fortunately, it's over quickly!