Yeah, that should be a red flag when an oncologist bristles at questions about treatment options. I'm not saying there is a conflict of interest, but they do bring in a huge amount of money to a cancer center by administering chemo. I do have peripheral neuropathy as a result of the chemo, which rarely happens with only 5 days of it. Timing of treatment really should be based on how you feel along with the CBC numbers (hemoglobin < 11g/dL, platelets < 100,000/mcL, absolute neutrophil count < 1000/mcL). Dr. Kreitman is very responsive to inquiries and might be able to help in your decision, kreitmar@mail.nih.gov. With your research, you may be aware that it will be very helpful for him to know if you have HCL (BRAF +) or HCL variant (BRAF -) which you would learn from your bone marrow biopsy.