Thursday, August 12, 2010

Positive First Step

We got the news back on the first scan for Elle since she started her new treatment. And the news was positive.

The metronomic chemo dosing, combined with the anti-angiogenic drugs, has greatly reduced the tumor's growth after the first round. In this kind of treatment, that is actually what you want to see. When you start, it still takes time for the newest part of the tumor, and it capillaries, to be shut down. But the treatment seems to be working. They had to measure the scans several times to identify where any growth had taken place at all. So now we start round two and hopefully we see even less growth or possibly a complete halt.

What this has done for now, though, is reopen a possibility to reducing the tumor's size. There is a procedure known as embolization, which is basically identifying a blood vessel that feeds only the tumor and injecting it with a gel that completely blocks the flow of blood. Which, in turn, kills that section of the tumor. If we could use this procedure to reduce the size of the tumor, then even more possibilities could open up. But for now, the focus is on seeing if we can possibly do this.

After months of bad news, to hear some good news was...I don't think "amazing" is too strong of a word to use here. And Elle's appearance and energy have been remarkable. She seems more like old Elle than she has in a long time.

So keep your fingers crossed for more good news. But today is a good day indeed.