Notes from this week

These are the notes taken by Robin at Laurie's last appt

Hi All,

.Treatments will start Jan 3rd, but on Dec 30 th 5:00 appt. to get schedule
. Treatments should be 15 min, on the table, but whole process should take an 1- 1 1/2 hrs..check in, blood, etc
. Chemo will be Tues/ Fri or Mon/ Thurs
. Go to 53 rd St for chemo rt after radiation treatment
. Use Cream daily over stomach/ Pancreatic area to protect skin from radiation, but the dr. does not expect any burning!!!
.Side Effects of radiation ..... Fatigue, Nausea, Heartburn, Bloating; 30% of people know after 1 st or 2nd treatment if they will have a bad reaction

.MOST IMPORTANTLY THE TUMOR IS STABLE...DID NOT SPREAD INTO OTHER ORGANS!!! Ie liver.

meeting with Dr. Yu

Neal's notes from yesterday's meeting:

Laurie was given some suggestions today to make this 5^th round easier in terms of side effects (especially nausea) than the 4^th.

The plan is for one more chemo treatment after today on 12/12 and then to begin radiation and chemo on 1/3/12 for five weeks. It will be another 4-6 weeks after that (late March to early APRIL) uNTIL A NEXT ct SCAN WILL GIVE US SERIOUS FEEDBACK. dR. yU WAS CLEAR THAT lAURIE IS NOT AND WILL NOT BE IN A LIFE-THREATENING STATE DURING THIS TIME.

dR yU ALSO REAFFIRMED THAT IT IS EXTREMELY UNUSAL THAT cHEMO ALONE IS ENOUGH TO SHRINK A TUMOR AND ALLOW FOR SURGERY. tHUS THE NEXT STEP OF RADIATION IS THE NORM.

lAURIE’S TUMOR MARKERS WENT DOWN LAST TIME AND IF WE FIND OUT THEY ARE DOWN AGAIN THIS TIME (SHOULD FIND OUT BY TOMORROW) THIS IS A VERY GOOD SIGN. fINGERS CROSSED.

aLL IN ALL (EDITORIAL OPINION) MORE POSITIVE NEWS THAN NOT.

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Today's Meeting with Radiation Oncologist

The following notes are from meeting with Dr. Karyn Goodman, radiation oncologist at Sloan on 11/23/11.........

Radiation will be 28 treatments over 5 and half weeks and will encompass about 1hr each time and will see Dr. Goodman every Monday

      ----prior to starting will do seeds in tumor for targeting (appt 12/20) and simulation appt (to be scheduled) as "dry run" with breathing HW  from CD as prep and to bring CD to simulation appt.

Will first have another 2 or 3 rounds of chemo before starting radiation  which will begin 2 or 3 wks after last chemo round---to be decided with Dr. Yu at this coming monday appt.

Will do a pre-radiation scan to help plan radiation targeting  and then another about 6 wks after radiation ends(often shrinking kicks in that much time post actual radiation)

Radiation is more aimed at shrinking tumor than chemo (more general to stop spread) and prior CT scan was taken earlier than usual in the chemo process

Good signs that the tumor has not spread and that tumor markers have gone down and that the tumor is placed "far out in the portal" (?) and easier to do "reconstructive"

With shrinkage pre-whipple, the 5 yr survival rate is 35%

From Laurie's profile, 25% go to surgery, but according to Dr. KG it is increasingly more likely in her recent experience (new protocol in last 4 years)  not to have shrinkage, but to keep it in check with or without chemo and to continue living for years (4 or 5 so far, but this is a new population, so unsure about limits of longevity as of now)

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Change in treatment plans

Hi all,
Today was a big day for Laurie.  She had her 4 th chemo treatment and met w/ the dr about the current regimen.  She had a cat scan last Fri., and today he reviewed it w/ her and Neal..  The good news is the tumor has not spread to other organs, however the tumor has not shrunk.  Rather than wait, the dr. is adding radiation to the chemo mix and changing the chemo drug as well.  This process will begin in 2-3 weeks, and last for 5 weeks.  The dr. still believes that surgery is a viable plan and that they will  be able to remove the tumor down the road!!  

The chemo for Nov. 28th is cancelled and I will get back to you all about team support.. Sooooo Laurie has come thru phase one w/ flying colors....how many people do you know are on chemo and did the marathon!!! Laurie's dr was quite impressed!!!  So Laurie will get a mini break before phase 2 begins...more time to meet everyone for brunch, lunch, walks in the park, or whatever!!!  Maybe she and Neal will be able to skip town for a few days!

Laurie's radiation consult is november 23  so we 'll know more then, and when phase 2 will actually begin...keep in touch...and I will update you when we know more...

Gobble Gobble. Enjoy Thanksgiving.
Robin

Welcome

Thank you all so much for checking in.

If you are reading this, you are one of the very special people in my mother's life. You cared enough to find out what is going on with her and her struggle with Pancreatic Cancer.

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Tracey