Friday, April 20, 2012

Ken has recovered remarkably during his "break" from the trial. The ulcers in his mouth are almost entirely healed, and the one bad one in his throat, although still there, has improved quite a bit. His liver function has almost returned to normal. The rash has improved, although he does have a new, slightly different rash as well. He has been able to eat and drink this week, and has gained back a couple of pounds. They did perform an ultrasound on his liver today, just to be cautious, but I haven't heard the results yet. Today's discussion centered on whether or not to continue on with the clinical trial, or pursue other options ( which are somewhat limited at this point). Ken's Doctor feels that there is still a benefit to continuing on the trial. There is always the possibility of going back on the Temodar; however, the tumor did not respond favorably to the cycle of Temodar that Ken did in February. There is also still the option of Avastin plus radiation. The doctors suggested decreasing the dosage of the trial drug, in an effort to assuage the side effects. The dose Ken had been on previously was the highest dose yet in the trial, and clearly was not well tolerated. Dr. M. suggested trying the reduced dose for a week, while maintaining the drug regimen that he has been using to heal the mouth ulcers, in hopes of preventing new sores from coming back. If after a week the side effects are again too great, and he cannot maintain an acceptable quality of life, then he knows he " gave it his best shot " and can move on. So Ken has agreed to one more week. Hopefully things will go more smoothly this time. Also, good news in that Ken is now walking without a cane, and maneuvered through the city quite well today, walking the 10 blocks or so from Grand Central to the Dr.'s office completely unassisted! :)