Purpose

This blog is about Liz, my beautiful daughter. She is battling melanoma, stage IV, which means it has metastasized into distant tissues. I know that having the support of many who care about her gives strength to deal with the hard times.

Liz originally had a mole removed from her back, near her right underarm, in Sept. 2006. A month later she had surgery to remove surrounding tissues and lymph nodes there and in her neck. She had a month of interferon treatments to boost her immune system to fight the cancer. We chose not to do the follow up shots (weekly for a year) so she could get back to life as a high school sophomore.

Then we had CT scans every 6 months, then 12 months, to see if any abnormal growths would show up. In October 2009 we learned she had a nodule in her right lung. She was referred to Dr. Kenneth Grossmann at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. He asked about getting her a brain MRI as well and it showed a patch of cancer cells growing in her skull just above her right ear.

Liz finished her first semester as a BYU student a week early. She is deferring her scholarships until her treatments are done, since taking interleukin-2 (IL2) makes the brain not function at full capacity. Liz wants to go into genetics and biotechnology, to kill cancer. She could do wonders, I have no doubt. She is a National Merit Scholar and very bright. (No, I am not just saying that because I am her mom.)

Her first IL2 treatment began December 7th and went well. She received 9 doses of the IL2, the usual amount, over four days. They test her daily for neurotoxicity by asking her questions and having her do dot-to-dot pages. She got more sick and less interested in food, and slept much more. That's when they stop treatments. She went home 12/18 and enjoyed seeing family and celebrating Christmas. She developed a blood clot from her PICC line that first time. We gave her blood thinner shots for a month (through last Friday, 1/15).

The second treatment began Jan. 4th, after she had a Hickman line put in. It makes it easy to administer IV drugs and fluids and to draw blood - an important bonus since she has no needle access on her right arm due to no lymph nodes there. This time her fluids were managed better and she gained less water weight. (During IL2 the body's capillaries leak fluids, then when treatment stops, the kidneys and liver try to catch up.) She had 8 doses this time, and went home Friday Jan. 15th. Her weight came right off, and she seems normal. Her skin is dry and peeling.

This past week she had radiation treatments Monday through Friday, outpatient. They are now over. She may have some hair loss at the spot where her radiation targeted the cancer. She now has two weeks to recover and hopefully gain more weight before the next round of IL2. She should be going in the hospital Jan. 31st and starting treatment the next day. We have a scan on the 27th and an appointment with the doctor on the 29th.

We have been blessed with love, prayers, and help in many forms. Thanks for your concern for our beautiful Liz.