Liz had a chest, abdomen, and pelvis CT scan Wed the 27th, difficult in part because she couldn't keep the barium whatever contrast down. She drank the clear kind and did fine.
Today the 29th we met with Dr Grossmann to hear results. He said and showed us that cancer has increased, in many areas. The interleukin-2 did not work for her. No more treatments will be done - that is the good news.
The existing lung tumors have grown, the second from 9mm to 25 mm.
New tumors are evident in many areas:
She has a tumor in her spine in vertebra T11, 12.4 mm, about 10 mm from the spinal cord. She had noticed back pain the last 3-4 days. She also has two smaller tumors in the right femoral neck, the part that goes in her hip socket area. These bones can become weakened and can cause a pathologic fracture - if she stepped off a curb wrong they could collapse suddenly. Radiation to these bones will start on Monday Feb 1st. There is also a small tumor in disc L4 in the lumbar region, smaller at this point.
She also has a 25 mm (1 inch) tumor in her spleen and a 16 mm tumor in her liver, and several smaller ones both places. Thus far no problems and she mentioned only sporadic pain on the spleen side, "like a stitch in the side from running" but when she is sitting still. He did not indicate treatment for these multiple tumors in soft tissues.
She has an MRI for her brain Sat the 30th at 9:45am. We hope skull cancer is at least limited to the area it was before. [side note: this week she has lost nearly all the hair in that spot on her right side of the skull, about a 2 1/2 inch circle) and her upper hair covers it from view. It is sensitive skin there.]
Liz also noticed a bump on her back, near the spine, that can be felt through the skin.
Dr Grossmann has called the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Maryland to see how quickly they can get her in to their study with harvesting TIL cells from tumors, then growing them to reinject to fight cancer. He predicts she can get in within about 14 days. Harvesting from either of the two lung tumors or the bump near the surface on her back should not be too difficult. It may take a few days to recover from lung surgery. Then Liz would come home. They try to grow the TIL cells (to billions) and it takes about 3 weeks. They would call to tell us if it worked (50% success rate), then she would return for a strong dose of chemo (the kind that makes you lose your hair) and the injection of TIL cells. She'd be in the hospital for about a week in intensive care. TIL cell treatment is 50% effective, so overall that has a 25% chance of helping her. Brad tells me that if her MRI shows cancer in the brain it would exclude her from this TIL cell treatment study.
Other radiation to deal with tumors in soft tissues would follow. Brad feels strongly this could be done sooner to halt growth and we are considering working with different doctors who would treat more aggressively. We also hope to get antibodies treatment.
Meanwhile, we worry about Liz's drop in weight and appetite, and will try some medications to help that.
None of this was expected, and it is hard to hear and to understand. We want so much for our lovely Liz to have opportunities to grow and enjoy her life. We so appreciate the prayers and support we receive from friends and family and total strangers, near and far. We don't know God's plan for us. We trust Him to lead us along. We hope we learn what we need to learn quickly. We want to do the important things. Thanks for your help, everybody.
Tracy/Mom
About Me
- TracyH
- I am the second of eight daughters, proud native New Yorker, conservative, LDS, wife, mother of four including Liz, and now grandmother! I love to read, sing and read email from and about my large family. I am short and feisty. I tend to analyze and look for a better way.