The Fight Continues . . .

Hi Everybody,
Skip and I spend the last two days visiting oncologists to see if the new chemo was effective. Unfortunately, the answer was no. The tumor has continued to grow. So now it is time for the "Big Guns." He will be starting a regimine of Avastin. This is a biological agent that constricts blood flow to the tumor essentially "starving it." It is administered interveneously for about 1.5 hours every 2 weeks. In the past, this drug has been used in conjunction with Irinotikin (sp?) which is a chemo drug. However, Dr. Nghmeiphu (UCLA oncologist) shared a new study showing very good results using Avastin alone thereby eliminating the negative side effects of chemo (hair loss, fatigue, nausea, etc.). So, we are going to give it a go. Fortunately we can have it administered locally at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Desert Hospital. I will hopefully have details today as to when it will begin. Skip will need a ride there and back so if you are able to help, please contact Debbi Garcia at loans.bydebbi@aol.com. As with all drugs, it doesn't come without some risks, so please pray for low blood pressure, no bleeding in or water on the brain and low protein levels in his urine.
In the meanwhile, Skip is completely off Dilantin (an anti-seizure med that we found could have negative interaction with Avastin) so timing was perfect. In the transition to the new anti-seizure drug Lamictal he did experience a couple of seizures. They came on very suddenly. In addition, the use of his left arm continues to lessen. Skip has concluded that driving a vehicle is out of the picture for him, obviously a very disappointing reality for him.
On the upside, we have been incredibly blessed this summer with a Wii system - thank you Dee and Barry!!! What fun our family has had creating our characters and challenging each other to all kinds of sports. (Skip and I are a pretty good duo in the boxing arena - watch out Mr. T!!) Just today, in fact, I called home and Skip was riding a dirtbike!!! Now THAT is way cool. Come join us with the family for Pizza and Wii - just give us a call!
As always, thank you for your prayers and for your love and assistance. We appreciate you all. . .
Blessings,
Linda