Start of the Trial

I'm in the chemo room at Sloan Kettering. They've got me down here to monitor my first day of taking the ARQ pills. I've got a good 5 hours of sitting around to do. Anyways, the scans showed that there are four or so small tumors in my right lung and one in my left. There is one that is above 1cm and it's the reason I am eligible for the study this time.

Strangely, that old tumor in my liver that was still shrinking two weeks ago is growing again. Then the one that's in my abdomen that was new and growing has stopped. That was the one that we had originally thought would make me eligible for the trial. This is a hard disease to understand. Once you think you know what it's doing, it does something else.

My AFP is up to 2000. It's amazing how that number just grows exponentially and feeds off of itself. I hope this treatment works. If not, this number is going to be ridiculous even by the time I come back here in two weeks.

Dr. Feldman has the results from his first 3 patients on the trial. Two patients showed progression after starting the trial and one now has stable disease. So, there is reason to be cautiously optimistic. I know that my body responds to treatment better than the people that are normally in my position. The Dr mentioned that one of the "failed" guys had never had a response from chemotherapy either.

I'll be back in Utah tonight. I've missed Karen while being here, so it will be good to be home with her and the little ones. Apparently they are now the size of raspberries. Why do pregnancy books always compare your unborn children to berries and other little snacks?