We started out early today, the PET scan starting at 6:15 this AM. We talked to Dr Colgan this afternoon and the tumor by Michael's heart has not changed with this new chemo. For the Stem Cell Transplant to begin, they needed the tumor to shrink considerably. The recommendation from Mayo is to begin a really harsh chemo.
However....going back since about 12 days we have been looking into Proton Radiation (in the event the chemo did not work or for possibly a treatment option after the transplant). A few centers, like Linda Loma and M D Anderson have been using it. Benefits are that it is much more accurate and it causes less damage to surrounding tissue--like Michael's heart.
We had previously talked with Dr Colgan about this and had sent his records down to M D Anderson in Houston last week. They had told us he was a candidate earlier in the week, but we wanted to see if the tumor would go down with the chemo.
We plan to go to Houston on Monday to learn more about their program to see if adding this this would benefit Michael. Melissa will be looking into making arrangements for a flight for us.
An interesting note this morning while I was waiting for Michael, on the news I heard that Mayo will be putting in a Proton Radiation Center on their grounds, but it will be a few years before that is done. So they definitely see promise in this as treatment.
While this is a promising tool for cancer treatment. The primary concern for us is "is this the right treatment now for Michael?" We appreciate all of your concern and all of your prayers as we are making these decisions. Thank you!!
No comments:
Post a Comment