Keepin' On Keepin' On

Well, the unfortunate news is that the last round of chemo did not reduce the tumor. It actually grew some more. That was very disappointing to say the least. What made it bearable at some level is that Elle continues to have a ton of energy and vigor. She is chasing the cats, demanding that books be read to her and eating hamburgers like it was going out of style.

That said, we have another chemo combination to try. We are introducing a new drug here called Vinorelbine. It is related to the Vincristine that Elle has received so many times. You may be asking "What makes it different?" I really don't know, to be honest. But we are combining it with our old friend Cyclophosphamide, but in a pill form and in a lower dose.

So why use a drug that didn't work the last time we used it? Apparently there is an emerging body of literature that suggests that combining it with the Vinorelbine can be effective against cancer types like Elle's. It's like drinking gin. You mix it with chocolate milk and it tastes like crap. But mix it with OJ and you have an Orange Blossom. The gin isn't any different, it just works better with something else. Obviously, we're hoping that this is the Orange Blossom of chemo treatments.

The other good thing for Elle is that this treatment takes relatively little time each day. The Vinorelbine is a push through her line and the Cyclo is in the aforementioned pill form. It will take all of 10-15 minutes each day for her to get the treatment at the clinic. This pleases Elle immensely.

There may be some form of chemo next week as well...that has yet to be determined. But we now have another plan and we are forging forward.