Sorry for not updating in a while, but thank God nothing is doing.
I am on the clinical trial of Tarceva. Two days a week, I take 1200 mg of Tarceva and the other five days 50 mg.
The side effects have been minimal and in the second week of June I will have a Cat Scan and MRI to see how effective the medication has been.
If it's working, which means the tumors are either remaining stable or shrinking, I will continue on this indefinitely. Hoping and praying that it will work.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Friday, April 8, 2016
Change of Plans
I was scheduled to have my last dose of Cisplatin and Pemetrexed chemo next week.
The side effects of extreme fatigue were just an inconvenience for me, but my oncologist felt that it was reason enough to switch now to the targeted chemo based on my DNA mutation of EGFR.
The new chemo drug is Erlotinib (Tarceva) and will be taken in pill form. It will have less side effects and is shown to be very effective in people who have the same DNA mutation as me.
I am very hopeful that, God willing, it will do the job.
The side effects of extreme fatigue were just an inconvenience for me, but my oncologist felt that it was reason enough to switch now to the targeted chemo based on my DNA mutation of EGFR.
The new chemo drug is Erlotinib (Tarceva) and will be taken in pill form. It will have less side effects and is shown to be very effective in people who have the same DNA mutation as me.
I am very hopeful that, God willing, it will do the job.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Cat Scan Results
I had a CT scan Monday from my neck to my hip to see how the tumors are doing.
Most of the tumors shrunk slightly or remained the same size. None of them grew and the one in my liver disappeared totally.
I feel great about the results and am optimistic that with God's help we can beat this cancer.
Most of the tumors shrunk slightly or remained the same size. None of them grew and the one in my liver disappeared totally.
I feel great about the results and am optimistic that with God's help we can beat this cancer.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Wonderful News
I just want to re-cap the previous treatment plan and update with fantastic news.
When I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, the found that it had metastisized to the spine, liver, brain and spinal fluid; a very grim diagnosis.
The plan was to do chemo first to shrink the tumor blocking my bronchial tube, as well as the tumors on my spine and liver. That was to be followed with full brain radiation for the many tumors on my brain, since chemo is not the treatment of choice for brain tumors. It seems that the chemo drugs I get, Cisplatin and Pemetrexed, have difficulty passing the brain-blood barrier.
Yesterday I had a brain MRI to check out the brain tumors and to see if they have grown. Lo and behold, every brain tumor had disappeared. It seems, as if the chemo destroyed on all those tumors, even if it wasn't meant to. That basically means that at this point, I do not need any brain radiation at all, of course I will have another brain MRI in two months to re-check brain, but this is the most wonderful news so far.
It is amazing how miraculous the body is and how powerful the power of prayer is.
When I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, the found that it had metastisized to the spine, liver, brain and spinal fluid; a very grim diagnosis.
The plan was to do chemo first to shrink the tumor blocking my bronchial tube, as well as the tumors on my spine and liver. That was to be followed with full brain radiation for the many tumors on my brain, since chemo is not the treatment of choice for brain tumors. It seems that the chemo drugs I get, Cisplatin and Pemetrexed, have difficulty passing the brain-blood barrier.
Yesterday I had a brain MRI to check out the brain tumors and to see if they have grown. Lo and behold, every brain tumor had disappeared. It seems, as if the chemo destroyed on all those tumors, even if it wasn't meant to. That basically means that at this point, I do not need any brain radiation at all, of course I will have another brain MRI in two months to re-check brain, but this is the most wonderful news so far.
It is amazing how miraculous the body is and how powerful the power of prayer is.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Great News!
Today's chemo went well. As the meds, cisplatin and pemetrexed, course through my body, I am really excited and thrilled to know they will be destroying cancer cells and shrinking any tumors.
I just got the final results of the third spinal tap, which was done to see the extent of the cancer in my spinal fluid, which was seen on the earlier taps. The results showed a totally clear spinal fluid with no evidence of cancer. Thank God.
I will have an MRI of the brain next week to see how the brain metastasis are doing, please pray for a great result.
I just got the final results of the third spinal tap, which was done to see the extent of the cancer in my spinal fluid, which was seen on the earlier taps. The results showed a totally clear spinal fluid with no evidence of cancer. Thank God.
I will have an MRI of the brain next week to see how the brain metastasis are doing, please pray for a great result.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Apology
i'm sorry for the 10 day silence. I was waiting for results. Preliminary results from spinal tap came back clear. This is great news, because that means I can finish full chemo rounds before doing radiation.
I am feeling stronger everyday and I will have my next chemo this Wednesday, God willing, and see cardiologist on Thursday to try to stabilize my pulse.
Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes and for your patience for info.
I am feeling stronger everyday and I will have my next chemo this Wednesday, God willing, and see cardiologist on Thursday to try to stabilize my pulse.
Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes and for your patience for info.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
The heart rebellion
Five days after chemo, my heart decided to rebel. I developed tachycardia (a very rapid heartbeat) and an infarct (silent heart attack). I spent the last four days going through tests and will continue more testing next week. Right now everything is under control with medication and the plan is to continue with the chemo as scheduled.
The good news is that the blood clot in my right lung dissolved totally, making the risks a lot less.
Waiting for results of spinal tap to see extent of cancer in spinal fluid, please pray for great results.
The good news is that the blood clot in my right lung dissolved totally, making the risks a lot less.
Waiting for results of spinal tap to see extent of cancer in spinal fluid, please pray for great results.
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