We met with Dr. Burstein this afternoon at Dana-Farber. He was nice to talk to, and he was very blunt about Lori’s diagnosis. We didn’t really learn anything new about the prognosis, but we did gain his philosophy on treatment. Bottom line: he is similar to Dr S. but he seemed more excited about a couple of trial options than Dr. S. does. Continue reading

Tomorrow, Lori and I are hopping on a plane from Indy to Boston. We’ll stay two nights. Wednesday morning, we meet with a Dana Farber oncologist for a consult concerning the direction of Lori’s care. We feel good that this visit will provide some added fidelity concerning Lori’s treatment plan. Continue reading

Yesterday, we went to Indy for a follow-up with the pain specialists and a check-in with Dr. S. The pain dr was very very happy with her healing. The pump has almost completely taken away all of her back and leg pain. She has pain from the incisions from her surgery, but that’s normal and will fade soon as she continues to heal. It was a quick appointment. Continue reading

I updated the previous post trying to let everyone know that the surgery went well, but I guess updates to posts don’t send out notifications. Anyhow, the surgery went well, and the pump is working properly. When we got home, Lori slept most of the afternoon and into the night. Then she was up for a while last night. I think she watched a Reds game to pass the time alone. Nice.
Today, she’s feeling good. The places where they cut are sore, but her back pain and leg pain is being managed nicely by the new pump. We’re convinced this will help her manage the pain.

Update 2:30: She is all done and the doctor said the surgery went fine. She’ll be in recovery for a couple of hours then we’ll go home.
Lori and I are in Indy today. On Tuesday, she had another biopsy accomplished. Very little pain! She was happy for that because the last couple of biopsies had been very painful. However, when they drew her labs on Tuesday, the platelet count was 75k. The minimum required for the pain pump surgery is 100k. To boost the platelet count for today’s surgery, we got her scheduled for a platelet infusion at the cancer clinic. She is in an infusion chair now waiting for the platelets. Once she gets this infusion, we’ll drive a few blocks up the road to the Methodist Hospital for the pain pump surgery. Continue reading

Today, Lori started a phase II trial drug called ENMD-2076. I like the name of that drug because it just seems so welcoming. You don’t feel like a lab rat or guinea pig when you are taking ENMD-2076. I mean, if they called it pain-eze or cur-all or ez-bliss, it just wouldn’t have the same warm and inviting appeal that ENMD-2076 provides. So that’s nice. Continue reading

We worked it out to delay the decision on whether to proceed with the trial drug vs the possible genome mapping drug match. The genome lab results should come in next Tuesday or Wednesday, and the medical board would probably meet next Friday to analyze the results and recommend a treatment drug (if they find a match at all). Continue reading

Unfortunately, the scans showed that Lori’s bone lesions have become larger and the tumor in her breast has grown a bit. So, Dr S has declared the Taxol chemo to be a failure, and he presented us with some new options as we look ahead. Continue reading

Lori went to Indy today and completed all of her scans. She had a CAT scan of her chest and abdomen as well as a full-body bone scan. The results won’t be ready for a couple of days, and we probably won’t hear about them until Monday morning when we visit with Dr. S again. We’re praying for good news (neutral development would be considered good news), and we’ll likely start the next round of chemo the same day. Continue reading

Pathology couldn’t see any cracks or breaks on Lori’s ribs, so that is good news. Mostly, I’m just relieved that she doesn’t have ribs as frail as they seemed. It would be nice to know, however, what is causing her added pain (she can feel it through the morphine). The May 13 full bone scans and MRI may show us more. Continue reading