We will have the next blood test results of treatment effectiveness perhaps by March 15. These tests are only indicators. A CT scan is the surest way to see what is happening to the tumors in my liver. The next one is scheduled for March 27, a 5 week interval after the previous one, probably the earliest that will show definitive changes in tumor size.
When we left home, we expected to continue the revised chemotherapy treatment recommended by our oncologist scheduled to begin March 1 concurrently with the Issels program. We reconsidered. We wanted to hear what the medical team here at the Issels Clinic had to say after reviewing all that had already been done plus the results of their incoming examinations and testing.
We have done that now. The doctors in the Issels program were willing to accommodate a concurrent chemotherapy treatment, but recommended the Issels program on its own. Our best assessment of the situation is that we gave chemotherapy alone a try with negative results (while delaying start of the Issels program). Now we feel that to continue chemotherapy with a new set of medications concurrently with an entirely different alternative regimen would only present mixed results and the inability to attribute success or failure to one of three treatment plans.
So we are going with the Issels program alone. At the end of the 4 week program, the most we will have lost is a month of treatment by whatever method we choose to proceed with at that point. We had already lost 6 weeks to unsuccessful chemotherapy treatment. We feel we have nothing to lose by full participation in the Issels program and quite possibly a lot to gain.
Copyright 2007
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