Please say a little prayer for our dad as he begins chemotherapy this morning at 10am. He seems nervous, but resolved for this next phase.
We learned last week that our dad will participate on the Study Arm of the E1505 research study. This means, in addition to his 4 rounds of chemotherapy, he will also receive the drug Bevacizumab, which is currently being researched and tested with our dad's cancer. This portion of his post-surgical treatment will continue on past the 4 rounds of chemo and will be infused once every three weeks for up to a year.
Each "round" of chemotherapy will follow a three week cycle. Day 1 and day 8 are infusion days. He has the third week "off. Today, just prior to his infusion, we will receive a chemo tutorial by Dr. Treisman's oncology nurses. We have heard the nurses are wonderful.
We will try our best to keep our dad's spirits up as he begins this next phase.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009 Preparing for Chemotherapy
We have had a fairly peaceful series of weeks, in preparation for the next step--chemotherapy. Our dad is still in pain, but he is managing it quite bravely and without significant complaint. It seems he is trying to physically and mentally adjust to his newly changed body and his outlook on his life, too.
The physical adjustment, in addition to the pain from the incision, seems to be ongoing for our dad. He has recently made attempts to describe the way his body now feels, which is difficult for him to describe in a way that makes it possible for one to imagine. He has said that when he breathes through his nose, he can feel his breath, or the air, passing through his body into the lower part of his lungs. He has also expressed a feeling on emptyness in his chest, a vacancy where the upper lobe once was. He definitely, in his attempts to describe his breathing, makes attempts to illustrate the newness and the absence of what once was.
Chemotherapy is likely to begin sometime this week, we think. We have had a second consult with Dr. Treisman regarding the E1505 clinical trial and have agreed to participate in the study. Our dad will receive a standard post-surgery chemotherapy course of four rounds of a "chemo recipe," taking place twice every three weeks, and, if randomized to a specific group in the study, will receive an additional non-chemo drug for up to a year. We will not know whether our dad will receive this additional drug until after he is "enrolled in the study."
Our dad underwent a series of tests on Friday (4.24.09) for study enrollment. He needed to have a series of labs done for baseline bloodwork, as well as a chest xray and an ECG. Once the results of the bloodwork are received, it is our understanding that our dad will be enrolled in the study and will find out whether his post-surgery treatment will extend beyond chemo for the additional non-chemo drug being currently tested.
Over the course of this coming week, we should know which portion of the research study our dad will be assigned, and will have our start date on the calendar. Our dad will also have his second post-surgical visit with Dr. Krishnan. We hope our dad continues to look forward positively as he regains his strength in body and mind for the next difficult steps ahead.
The physical adjustment, in addition to the pain from the incision, seems to be ongoing for our dad. He has recently made attempts to describe the way his body now feels, which is difficult for him to describe in a way that makes it possible for one to imagine. He has said that when he breathes through his nose, he can feel his breath, or the air, passing through his body into the lower part of his lungs. He has also expressed a feeling on emptyness in his chest, a vacancy where the upper lobe once was. He definitely, in his attempts to describe his breathing, makes attempts to illustrate the newness and the absence of what once was.
Chemotherapy is likely to begin sometime this week, we think. We have had a second consult with Dr. Treisman regarding the E1505 clinical trial and have agreed to participate in the study. Our dad will receive a standard post-surgery chemotherapy course of four rounds of a "chemo recipe," taking place twice every three weeks, and, if randomized to a specific group in the study, will receive an additional non-chemo drug for up to a year. We will not know whether our dad will receive this additional drug until after he is "enrolled in the study."
Our dad underwent a series of tests on Friday (4.24.09) for study enrollment. He needed to have a series of labs done for baseline bloodwork, as well as a chest xray and an ECG. Once the results of the bloodwork are received, it is our understanding that our dad will be enrolled in the study and will find out whether his post-surgery treatment will extend beyond chemo for the additional non-chemo drug being currently tested.
Over the course of this coming week, we should know which portion of the research study our dad will be assigned, and will have our start date on the calendar. Our dad will also have his second post-surgical visit with Dr. Krishnan. We hope our dad continues to look forward positively as he regains his strength in body and mind for the next difficult steps ahead.
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