[Magdalen] Clinical trial

[Eleanor Braun]

You may recall that I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in September 2014.

Since then I've been through surgery and two rounds of chemotherapy.

After my trip to Iona and England this last September, my cancer marker had
once again gone up to the point where I needed further treatment.  After
further tests and a visit to my top doc at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in
Boston, I learned my options.

For the first time those options included three clinical trials.  In the
past I've been hesitant about clinical trials, mainly because they require
frequent trips to Boston from Cape Cod.  But now I'm more open to them.

As I learned about the available trials, the one that really caught my
attention was a combination of a standard chemotherapy with an
immunotherapy drug.  That drug is the same one that was used to treat and
cure Jimmy Carter's brain tumor (which was metastasized melanoma).  Several
trials are now being undertaken to test that approach on other tumors.

So I had to wait until slots in the trial were opened up, and go through
more tests and exams, but I will finally start treatment next Monday at
Dana Farber.  I won't have to go every week; the chemo is given every four
weeks, and the immuno treatment every three weeks.

And I know I will be getting both drugs, not a placebo.  This is a phase 2
trial, where they are testing the dosing and timing, but everybody gets the
treatment.

Tests so far have indicated the immuno drug has less side effects than
regular chemo.  And I've tolerated the chemo side effects fairly well
through the first two rounds.

So I'm hopeful that this will be a tolerable treatment with the possibility
of improvement, at least for a while.  Ovarian is regarded as an
"aggressive" cancer, and the best hope is to keep beating it back as long
as possible.

Your prayers for peace and hope are welcome.

Eleanor