PLANNING BEGINS

Hi everyone....Yesterday was a pretty good day. We met with the oncologist again and are getting closer to formulating a plan of attack. The Cancer Agency will not provide Dallas with herceptin (this is one of the drugs that has shown promise in other HER-2 positive cancers like Dallas’s) because there are only 2 individual case studies - not enough for them to step up to the plate. The better news is that there are a few other options. There is a clinical trial that is going to be starting up in Vancouver for a drug that is similar to herceptin. We will be meeting with the doctor that is heading this trial in the next couple of weeks. Another option that our oncologist is going to pursue is with the drug company that manufactures herceptin to see if they will provide Dallas with the drug. In essence, they would be building a case study around Dallas in exchange for giving us the drug. Dallas would have to receive the drug at a private infusion clinic – apparently there is a doctor up in Duncan that runs one of these. The third option is for us to pay for the drug and have it administered privately. As our oncologist says, it’s complicated but one way or the other Dallas will start treatment soon.

The advantage to the clinical trial in Vancouver is that Dallas will be followed closely. We also like the idea of getting another opinion by someone that’s a researcher in the field of head and neck cancer. Dallas’s cancer is so rare that I think it’s hard to pinpoint what will work the best – maybe the research oncologist will say that there is another avenue to pursue. The good news is that the series of bone studies Dallas has had in the last week show that the cancer hasn’t been there for a long time. What that gives us is time to make a decision and also time to go to Palm Springs – we really need a vacation! The oncologist assured us that starting treatment in a month vs. next week is not going to be harmful. And at this point some fun might be the best medicine of all. We fly out on Monday for 6 days of sun worship - YEAH!!! More later...

Love,

Patty and Dallas

HERE WE GO AGAIN...

Thank you so much for all your calls and emails of support! I hope that you'll forgive me as I update everyone on the blog, instead of individually - it has been an exhausting, roller coaster week...

The good news is that we're formulating a plan. Thanks to a friend in Calgary we have a Plan B. Our friend is an Otolaryngologist (Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist). He had suggested early on that we have Dallas's tumour analyzed for HER-2. I won't get into a lot of detail here because I don't understand the science, but we made the request, and Dallas tested strongly positive for the presence of HER-2. Our friend had found some studies where there has been success with a combination of two drugs in the treatment of Dallas's type of cancer. The combination drug therapy is quite common in the treatment of some other cancers, including breast cancer. Unfortunately, even though these drugs are readily available, the B.C. Cancer Agency does not recognize them as acceptable treatment for Dallas's cancer. For this reason, Dallas had the standard, approved treatment to begin with - even though it was for a different type of salivary gland cancer.

On Thursday we met with Dallas's Oncologist. He finally agreed that the combination drug therapy is our best chance and is he is willing to go to bat for us. He will make a presentation to the cancer board to see if they will make an exception and allow Dallas to be treated with these drugs. If they don't approve the treatment plan we will have to pursue more expensive options. They may make us pay for the drugs but allow us to have them administered in Victoria or we may have to go further afield.

Despite this setback, I am happy to report that Dallas is feeling really well. He is strong and ready for the fight. We'll keep you posted - positive thoughts and prayers are always appreciated! More later...

Love, Patty

Our Update

Hi everyone…thanks for all the calls, emails and visits. Some of you may know that Dallas’s thyroid surgery was cancelled yesterday. His recent PET scan revealed some bigger issues – the cancer has spread into the bones of his neck, lymph nodes under his arm and his chin. For this reason the surgeon decided it was best to leave his thyroid as is, and as it turns out the thyroid didn’t show up as being cancerous on the scan.

At first we went into roller coaster mode because the surgeon had indicated that there was nothing else to be done. Fortunately, our wonderful GP, Kate Evans, called us on another matter so we brought her up to speed. She immediately moved into action and gave us the greatest gift of all – HOPE. We will be at the Victoria Cancer Clinic tomorrow and from there we will see Kate. If we aren’t happy with the solutions that the Cancer Clinic presents us with then we’re off to UBC. From UBC we may visit the Mayo Clinic but we’re hoping to stay closer to home.

I’m not a very good communications manager these days, so if I haven’t responded to your calls and emails please forgive me. That’s about it for now – except THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Your encouragement and support continue to light the way for us.

Love,
Patty

Surgery Cancelled

Hi there...surgery was cancelled. More details to follow soon...

Love, Patty & Dallas

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS AGAIN...

So we're now counting down the days until Dallas's surgery again - a week from tomorrow. He's feeling pretty strong going into this one. There are a few reminders of the last surgery - nagging pains in his shoulder and neck, some pain and numbness on the left side of his face and ear. But for the most part I still see improvement with every day, even if Dallas doesn't.

As always, thanks for all your wonderful calls, emails and messages! It is always reassuring to know that we aren't walking this road alone. More later...

Love, Patty