The Big Update

Dad here with …………The big update.

Last Thursday, Elizabeth was supposed to have Chemo. This would have been the second round after the last surgery. But, Dr. Marcio wants to go ahead and move to a different agent. Elizabeth’s AFP was 201 then. Up a little from the last one, it was about 160. So, it seemed like that sealed the deal to move on to a new regimen.

On Tuesday, she will begin IFL and Avastin. IFL is an acronym for Irinotecan (a chemo), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)(a chemo) and Leucovorin (a form of folic acid to help prevent anemia). The Avastin is an angiogenesis inhibitor, meaning that it stops the generation of new blood cells. This is a new class of products that are being developed in an effort to make current chemotherapies work better.

This time, the cycle or rounds of Chemo will be different. Each round will consist of 4 treatment days spaced a week apart. The IFL will be given on all 4 weeks and the Avastin will be only the first and third week. She will start tomorrow (Tuesday) with her first day and have the Irinotecan, 5-FU, Leucovorin and Avastin given by IV. Not sure what the antiemedics, but we will find out. Also, Elizabeth has a CT scan on Thursday this week to check among other things how well the surgery went and create a baseline for the new treatment. Still hard to believe UCLA could only offer palliative treatments for 6 months, maybe. But, hey that was 4 months ago and we are just getting started!

Updates have been a little sparse. I apologize to those of you that have been waiting for your updates. It has been 3 weeks since the last round of Chemo and 6 weeks since her last major surgery to remove tumors.

The last couple weeks have been a much needed break from everything cancer related.(including the site!) It wasn’t really planned that way, but with Elizabeth feeling better than she has in 6 months, it worked out that way. Getting the tumors out of her stomach and liver provided some much needed relief from daily discomfort for Elizabeth. We spent the last couple weeks just trying to be normal for a while. Trips to Disneyland, family reunion picnics, playing outside with bubbles, watching DVD’s because you want to, Barbequing, watching fireworks, going to the movies and dancing. Ohh, and Mike went to his first WEEK long camp with the Boy Scouts. He was quite worn out, but he definitely enjoyed it.

Going through this, you start to forget what normal is for other people. It has been nice to find a small break away from all that is cancer. Well, almost all. There still are weekly blood draws, doctor visits, morning meds, 5-6 blood sugar sticks, 4-5 insulin shots, evening meds, dressing changes, Central line flushes and whatever else Emilie does that I forget she does. But, still it has been nice to forget for a couple weeks about the major stuff and be able to enjoy Elizabeth’s spirit for a while. Even though, it was our subconscious forcing the issue.

Suffice to say, the site is part of that daily reminder of the gravity of what we are dealing with. That is why it has been on break with all of the other major stuff. But, we are back into the think of it and updates will be more regular. The mental “hold” button is off and onward we will go. I thank you for your patience and understanding.

I want to say thank you to everyone that has been keeping Elizabeth and us in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you. And for those of you that have our numbers, please don’t hesitate to just call to chat.

Take care…….Elizabeth, Elizabeth's Dad, Elizabeth's Mom, Elizabeth's brother, Elizabeth's other brother and Elizabeth's baby brother (It is all relative to Elizabeth!)