Jen's latest MRI shows no progression. There also appears to be some shrinkage of the non contrast portion (the residual edema from the radiation). This is obviously positive news considering the differences in interpretation of her last scan as well as the fact that Jen can only tolerate extremely low doses of the chemo. Unfortunately, Jen's platelets are now below where they need to be to resume with the next cycle of chemo. She is scheduled to resume on Friday, but this will depend on her platelet levels. We will check her blood again this Friday and if her platelets have recovered sufficiently we will begin the next cycle. Her levels will help determine the next dose. We also return this Thursday to Cedars to follow up with them as well.
We are both extremely relieved.
I am sure many of you have already seen the HBO special that premiered this last weekend called "Killing Cancer". It examines many of the promising newer therapies using viruses such as measles, smallpox, polio, the common cold, and HIV to combat cancer. Although vaccine and immunotherapy treatments are still in the early clinical stages, there is a lot of promise and hope out there. Currently, Jen is ineligible for any clinical trials available because she is stable (a good thing). If you wish to check out the info from this HBO special check out the following link:
http://killingcancer.vice.com
And here is the full episode available to watch even without an HBO subscription:
http://www.hbo.com/vice#/vice/episodes/03/00-vice-special-report-killing-cancer/video/killing-cancer-full-episode.html/eNrjcmbO0CzLTEnNd8xLzKksyUx2zs8rSa0oUc-PSYEJBSSmp-ol5qYy5zMXsjGyMXIyMrJJJ5aW5BfkJFbalhSVpgIAXbkXOA==
Coming up on the weekend of March 13-14 is UCLA's 15th annual Brain Tumor conference. This is full of panels and info and is geared towards patients and their families, caregivers and friends. Jen and I plan on attending at least a few of the events. If anyone who is local would be interested in joining us for support/education please let us know. The event is free. If you are interested you can check out the link below.
http://www.neurooncology.ucla.edu/BTC/Conference.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment