On Tuesday the Sister and I went to Stanford Medical Center, Cancer Division and met with Dr. Wakelee. The purpose of the visit was both to get a 2nd opinion and to see if there were any clinical trials currently underway at Stanford that might help the Sis.
To answer the latter, no. No magic wand. But we're welcome to check back.
To answer the latter, no. No magic wand. But we're welcome to check back.
The good news, from my perspective is that Dr. Wakelee was on board with the treatment the sister has been receiving. She might have done things slightly differently, but not substantially.
On Wednesday we had a follow-up with the primary oncologist, a Dr. Wong, and based on the discussions with Stanford and a previous discussion with him, decided to try Tarceva. The primary benefit of this drug is that the Sister's qualify of life goes way up. Tarceva is a pill, taken daily with much softer possible side effects.
The current lifestyle while undergoing chemo therapy is to have chemo, feel like crap for 2 weeks, start to recover, wash, rinse and repeat.
With Tarceva, the hope is that 'normal' becomes the norm. We'll see. It'll take a month or more for her body to clear the toxins from the chemo.