Change in Change of Plans...

Remember that nice post from nearly 3 weeks ago explaining the drug study that Melinda was going on?  Well, never mind - plans have changed again...  Everyone overseeing the study gave a thumbs-up, the insurance was working with the study to make sure all expenses would be covered, and we thought all our ducks were lining up when we suddenly heard that she couldn't be on Coumadin for the study.  Evidently they had granted exemptions in the past for patients on blood thinners, but for some reason, were reluctant in this case.  So with 5 weeks since her last treatment, which wasn't effective anyway, we were anxious to do something, so are going to another drug combo as an alternative to the TH-302 study.  Evidently, the study will be a fallback if the new treatment proves less than optimal after a few cycles...

So, on Thursday, Melinda will start yet another combo, this time Adriamycin and Cytoxan.  Our oncologist thinks that side effects won't be worse than some of her previous treatment regimens, though one of the side effects of Adriamycin is cardiomyopathy - it can be toxic to heart muscle cells.  So she will get an echocardiogram before starting, and regular monitoring to make sure this isn't an issue in the future.  Other side effects are the standard - possible hair loss, nausea, tiredness, aches and pains, etc, etc, etc - the standard list that she has fought through every time before...

So that is the plan.  A single afternoon in the infusion center every 3 weeks, with blood tests before and a week after to watch her recovery.  In 2 cycles or 6 weeks, she'll have another PET scan to see what effect it has been having.  Fingers crossed, looking for better news!