Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Quick Update - Clinical Trial

So first off all the previously recognized tumors in the chest and abdonmen are stable. The problem is there are two lymphnodes that are growing and they haven't stopped. So that indicates I'm at the beginning stages of Tarceva resistance. So Dr. Krug said I can wait two more months to see if they keep growing or I can choose a course of action. But I really like that he put it in my hands.

So before anyone worries, here's the deal, the growth is not enough to warrant chemo or radiation. The way Krug explained it when u are on Tarceva, regrowth happens so slowly it's hard to know when to pull the trigger on additional treatment, but he felt comfortable to let another 2 months go and another cat scan before def taking action.

But there's a clinical trial that will add another drug (IV, every 2 weeks) to Tarceva to get it going again. I will not be randomized because I'm in the cancer regrowth catagory so I WILL receive the new drug.

Also I have a lot of fluid in my lungs (probably treatment related), which is why I'm tired and out of breath so much lately. So I will be getting that drained. That'll help me with how I'm feeling physically.

There is only one x-factor in all of this, my next brain scan (June 7) has to be stable. If not, I have to treat anything that is unstable and then reapply to the study.

As for how I'm feeling, at the moment I feel ok. I was prepared for worse to be honest. The way I'm looking at this is, we see a small change on the scan and we want to nip it in the bud before it becomes a problem.