Surgery Results

Well, I'm sure most of you have heard bits and pieces about Judy's surgery. So, I will start at the top and tell it all. On Thursday, the Surgeon attempted to look for the problem using a laparoscope, but was unable to see anything. He did about a 4 inch incision and was able to uncover the culprit that was causing the symptoms...a piece of her small intestine was stuck to the front of her abdominal wall. He snipped it loose and then had to do a resection of about 3 inches. While viewing the small intestine, he became concerned that about half the intestine appeared to have a blueish color, making him think there was a restricted blood flow to the area. He called in a Cardiovascular Surgeon and it was decided to do a CT Angiogram on Friday morning. The CT Scan was done about 10 AM and we heard from the team that afternoon. The consensus was that worst case, there may be minimal restriction of blood flow, that would not have been the cause of Judy's symptoms. Our Oncology Surgeon feels like the resection will relieve the symptoms. So, here we are at 8PM on Saturday, getting ready to go home tomorrow afternoon. Wow, what a crazy week this has been. Satan has been attacking us "big-time" the last couple of weeks. Now, Jesus tells us, "My children, just keep your eyes on Me and watch Me work a miracle on your behalf". Thank you Jesus! We love every one of you and cherish your love and prayers. Judy and Ronnie

Surgery

Judy will enter Baylor Hospital at 2PM on Thursday for exploratory surgery. She has been having symptoms similar to those prior to her previous resection. I will blog after the surgery, probably Thursday evening or Friday. Thank you all for your continued prayer and encouragement. Ronnie and Judy

Clinical Trial

As many of you know, today was the day to decide about the Clinical Trial, using the new drug, Everoline. The Dr finally got the protacol for the study two weeks ago. Surprisingly, this study requires that the patient cannot be taking any other drugs during the trial. The doctor was upset about that, as were we. However, our "ace in the hole" has always been the Sandostaten shot. That's what has kept the tumors in check so far. We will continue our present regimen. We just got back from Colorado and Judy did remarkably well. Our next appointment will be in four weeks, and we will have a CT Scan, repeating every four weeks thereafter. We have only had a 20% tumor growth since diagnosis. We praise God for His strength to walk this path. He's holding our hand all the way. God bless all of you who have been faithful in prayer for us. Judy and Ronnie

FURTHER TESTS

Well, we still don't know if Medicare will pay for the new drug. Although we may not go that route, we still need to know if that's an option. The clinical study will be enrolling in about two weeks or so. It will be a 2/1 blind study, meaning two of three will get the real drug and one will get a placebo. If we go that way, and don't tolerate the side effects well, we can just drop out of the study at any time. Judy is not nearly ready to limit her activities. She feels she has much work to do yetand can't let drugs keep her from it! At our appointment with the doctor, while listening to Judy's heart, he heard a slight heart murmer. He said that sometimes the harmones emitted from the tumors will go to the right side of the heart and mess with the valves. He's not really suggesting this, but he wants us to do an echo-cardiogram to check it out. We should have that done in the next week or two. So, our next appointment with the Oncologist is August 6. Then, we should know all we need to know to make a decision about further treatment. Thank all of you again for your unfailing prayers and heartfelt concerns. WE love you very much. Judy and Ronnie

DECISIONS

OK all you prayer warriors, we need your help. We will be seeing our local Oncologist on Friday, and we will need to make a decision. We will have three choices concerning Judy's treatment. What we desparatly want is for our choice to be in perfectly in harmony with what God wants. By Friday, we should know whether Medicare will pay for the new drug (Everoline). If they will, then our choices will be: 1) Take the new drug along with the monthly shot that Judy has been taking all along. 2) Sign up for a Clinical Study using the same drug, but with only a 50/50 chance that we will get the drug versus a placebo. 3) Do nothing now, which our local Doc believes would be the proper thing to do, since the progression of the tumors is only up by 20%. Also, we could possibly just increase the current dosage of the Sandostaten shot. A large consideration in choosing the first or second option is, for the patients currently taking the Everoline, either full time or in the study, only 5% have reported positive results, There are also side effects that Judy doesn't have to deal with now. So, if we go with 1 or 2, and the side effects begin to drag Judy down, then we will cease the drug. Judy is not nearly ready to be slowed down or hampered. Please pray that will know the mind of God and make the decision to follow His path, wherever it may lead. Thank you. Judy and Ronnie

Meeting with Oncologist

We talked with Dr McCullom on Friday nite. After consulting with Sr. Phan at MD Anderson,he gave us his opinion as to further treatment options. He feels as though we could continue our current regimen, without adding any new drug. He would monitor our progress with quarterly scans and blood work. On the other hand, Dr Phan is following MDA protocol by recommending additional treatment, based on the 20% progression of the tumors over the past 18 months. Therefore, we simply have a difference of opinion between two highly trained professionals. As we mentioned previously, a clinical trial, using the drug, Everolimus will be started here in Dallas next month. Our decision has been to wait to get the info for the protocol for the trial before making a final decision. We feel the waiting time for a decision is not critical. So, we should have substantive news in the next couple of weeks. Again, Judy and I cannot tell you how much your concern and prayers mean to us. To God be the glory. Judy and Ronnie

Further Developments

Well, we took our results and recommendations from Dr. Phan in Houston, and we went to see our local Oncologist Dr. McCollum. He's not so sure that we need to do anything at the moment. He is going to contact Dr. Phan this week and see what her reason is to suggest additional meds at this time. Then, we will get back with Dr. Mc within the next week or two to determine what we are going to do. If we elect to try for the Everolimus medication, pending Medicare approval, we should know in the next few weeks. If not, we could still possibly get the the drug in a clinical study, administered here in Dallas. That's the one that is 1/1 or 2/1 med versus a placebo. The good news is that we don't need to do anything immediately. Please pray for wisdom to know what God wants...isn't that really the only thing that matters? God bless all out partners, Judy and Ronnie