ROUND 2 UPDATE

Sorry it took so long to update. Mom is doing pretty darn well with round 2. Based on the lab results from her liver biopsy, they have her on a new regimen. The new regimen is much more intense. She will now go in every Friday for one of her chemo treatments. It's called erbutux. It has been proven to be more effective, but it also has harsher side-effects. She is expected to get an acne-like rash on her body within 2-3 weeks of starting the treatment. So far, so good. Mom said she really is getting younger - she's getting acne and losing weight! She's pretty wiped out, but other than that, her side effects aren't as bad as they could be. She didn't get a wink of sleep last night because the discomfort was just enough to prevent her from sleeping. Luckily, she fell asleep this morning as dad was getting ready for work. Hopefully, she'll catch up a little bit and energize her body.

So she goes in every week for erbutux (which is a procedure that lasts about 5 or 6 hours in the doctor's office) and every other week for the chemo pump that administers two other kinds of chemo. Those two kinds are the ones that she has to have for 48 hours. I can't remember the names of those, but if you're interested, I'll ask dad again.

She also found out yesterday that her liver is extremely healthy, so they won't have to perform embolization during her liver surgery. That is huge! It's a testament to the word of wisdom!(More embolization info: Embolization is a form of palliative (non-curative) treatment for liver cancer. This includes tumors originating in the liver or those that have spread (metastasized) to the liver from other areas of the body. The artery to the liver is blocked off (embolized) with small particles to starve the tumor of oxygen and nutrients.

In certain circumstances, chemotherapy drugs are administered at the time of embolization or mixed with the particles to block the artery (chemoembolization). This allows a higher concentration of chemotherapy (compared with systemic chemotherapy) to be administered to the liver where it remains for up to one month within the tumor. This increases the effectiveness and decreases the systemic side effects).

Following embolization of the liver you may experience significant abdominal pain that may start during the latter part of the procedure and usually lasts 2 or 3 days. This may also be associated with fever, nausea and vomiting, which is known as "post-embolization syndrome." You will receive medications to control the pain and nausea during your hospital stay, which can last up to 5 days depending upon the severity and duration of the post embolization syndrome).

Looking good 3 hours after pump removed on Easter Sunday!