Back in Claremont

Yesterday, we awoke early and drove to Claremont. The traffic wasn't at all bad so we arrived at City of Hope in plenty of time. Unfortunately, the machine that processes the blood was having trouble so we waited a really long time to see Adrienne's oncologist. We discussed her scans and, given her history, everyone believes that the spot in her chest is Hodgkin's Disease. Thankfully, it is very small. The options he presented were to watch and wait, treat with gemcitabine, or proceed with the clinical trial. Adrienne and I both rejected the gemcitabine since she had progressive disease the last time she got it and it makes her feel pretty crummy. We decided to proceed with qualifying for the clinical trial. Adrienne will go back in two weeks to get whatever tests she needs and we'll follow up with scans in October. She may start the trial before that or after her scans in October. We all feel pretty good about the decision. The trial uses a new drug called SAHA, which works to modify the genetics of the tumor. It's a new class of drug and is not like chemo, and therefore, the side effects are not as severe.

The doctor commented on how steady Adrienne's health has been. Her weight was only .1 kilo different than last April, her heart rate was 4 beats per minute different, and her blood counts were almost identical. She has been quite tired lately and the doctor thought it was time for her to see an endocrinologist so she will do that in two weeks when she returns to qualify for the trial. It's possible that her thyroid isn't functioning right due to her radiation.

Adrienne also saw her cardiologist on Friday. He was pleased to see her doing so well. He is upping the amount of Coreg she takes to get her to a therapeutic level. He always comments on how small she is so he likes to increase her meds very, very slowly, which is fine with us. The dose of Enalapril will stay the same. He also said she could do some light yoga though he cautioned against too much cardio which could stress her heart.

Adrienne moves into the dorms tomorrow, Sunday, and starts classes on Tuesday. She is really happy to be back at CMC with her friends.