Thanks, guys. This has got to be one of the best groups of people there is.
ok. Good news, or, at least, not really bad news. The tumors only grew a little, maybe 5%, so the chemo is keeping it slowed down.
Here's what's wrong. I know some already know. I'll just copy it from a PM I sent to someone who inquired, so I don't have to type it all again. It's a little long, but it started 4 years ago.
Breast cancer that has spread to the protective lining of the brain and spinal cord. Leptomeningeal disease, Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis, Leptomeningeal metastases of Breast Cancer. All mean the same thing. You've heard of bacterial or viral meningitis? You could call this cancer meningitis, I guess. It's in the meninges, the protective lining of the brain and spinal cord. Terminal diagnosis. And, it has paralized her from the bottom of the ribs on down.
Late July, 2000, we were told she had 6 to 8 weeks without treatment, maybe 3 or 4 months if there was a treatment that would help her. Might be able to extend her life, but there is no cure.
Well, 20 months later, she's doing pretty well. MRI yesterday showed about a 5% growth in tumor size.
The tumors had completely disappeared from the mri, but they took her off of her chemo because it gave her diahrea. (She was in the hospital 1.5 weeks for diahrea. That's serious diahrea.)
4 weeks off of the chemo, and you could see the tumors in the mri again. Came back pretty quickly. . So, doctor put her back on the chemo, dose reduced to 90%. Tumors grew a little. Up dose to 95%. Tumors grew a little. Now he's uped dose to 100%. Hopefully this will knock them out again.
The 2 drugs that have worked for her, Herceptin at first, and now Xeloda, were both approved for use in 1998. They are both "Smart" drugs, attacking primarily cancer cells and leaving normal tissue alone.
No way to tell this story in short form. It's a long story. I forget what I've told who. Considered creating a web site to detail it all but figured she wouldn't live that long. Might as well go ahead and do it. Looks like she'll be with us a while longer.
Oh, yeah. I'm 41. She's 39. We have a 4 year old son. She discovered the lump after she stopped breast feeding. She was 35 then; I was 37.
