[Magdalen] Clinical trial

[Ginga Wilder]

Eleanor, thank you for this update.  Lots of good things are happening with
immunotherapy.  You are in my prayers, as you have always been.

((((((Eleanor))))))
Ginga

On Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 12:51 PM, Eleanor Braun <eleanor.braun at gmail.com>
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
>