Scan Results + Next Steps

Last week, mom had another scan to check progress of the tumors.  She received the scan results today at her appoint. The results were as expected, the tumors have grown (not all of them, but a fair number of them) so it shows with a strong indication that she should not continue on the treatment she's been doing since the end of September.

A little background as it's been a few months since I last updated here:  It has been a rough few months for my mom. She has been so strong, pushing through, adjusting everything in her life to fight this. When they changed her treatment at the end of September, they tried a more aggressive mixture (recommendation from the Cancer Treatment Centers of America), but thought Mom could handle it.  But, it didn't work, the treatment plan (see last update) made her white blood count dropped so low she was in the emergency room a few times around Columbus Day weekend for fear of infection as she had a spiked fever multiple times in about 3-4 days. Very rough few weeks. She was final able to continue treatment on Nov 7th (having over a month break so she & her immune system could try to recover and become a little stronger). At this point, they tried a much lower dose that removed one of the drugs (5-FU pill vs. infusion, for those that are keeping track) and she continued w/ just the CPT-11 & Avastin every 3 weeks since then. So, after very sporadic treatment, the results were not surprising, however, still not what we'd have hoped.

So, what's next - The doctor said it's really Mom's choice.  She can continue with another round of treatment (single agent, only 1 drug), this would be every other week which would be, Erbitux (this causes the dry-skin or red-rash acne like symptoms) and diarrhea.  This drug in combination w/ CPT-11 was what she was taking from May - August this year when the side effects (namely the diarrhea) was so harsh, they stopped the treatment. But, that treatment was working, quite well based on the scan results in August.

She can also choose to not continue treatment. They would manage any symptoms from the cancer (quite well the doctor explained; almost everything can be controlled except fatigue).

She will not be doing treatment until at the least January 3rd.  Because we know the side effects will only contribute to bad days, this makes the most sense so ensure she feels good (if not almost great) for the holidays.

I believe that Mom has decided to at least try the modified treatment again to see how she can tolerate the side effects.  The plan for now is just take it day-by-day and see if the side effects from the chemotherapy are worth continuing.  The doctors say that the likelihood of the treatment working (because it's only a single agent), is about 50/50, but it could work to keep the tumors stable for at least a little while.  The balance of the good days will determine whether it will be worth it for her to continue.

We are planning a memorable Christmas. And, as you can probably imagine, we're asking Santa (really, God) for a miracle. As always, which we know you always do, please keep her in your prayers. 

It's really incredible to know so many people are caring and would, at a drop of hat, help if there was anything she or Tim needs. For now, wishing them Merry Christmas and prayers for careful consideration on making the right decision and being at peace with whatever that turns out to be.