[Magdalen] Clinical trial

[Eleanor Braun]

Thanks, Marion.

And for those not on Facebook, "young Harold" is a shih tzu puppy who will
come to share my life in mid-January.

Eleanor


On Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 4:05 PM Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
wrote:

> It's always good to have options and you'll be in good company with
>
> Jimmy Carter! Who better?!  I will keep you in my prayers, Eleanor, and
>
> especially raise prayers for peace and hope.  Here's to the new year and
>
> to young Harold's arrival.
>
>
>
> Love and hugs,
>
>
>
> Marion, a pilgrim
>
>
>
>
>
> On 12/9/2016 12:51 PM, Eleanor Braun wrote:
>
> > 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
>
> >
>
>
>
>