Chemotherapy again?

Thank you to CW, Laureh and Zulkifli for your comments and suggestions.
We did talked to our oncologist about avastin and he told us that it is only about 20% effective at this stage. On top of that, it will cost about RM10,000 per treatment per month. Avastin or Bevacizumab works by interfering with the process of angiogenesis. It cuts off the supply of blood vessels to the tumor causing it to shrink.

Dr Ibrahim did suggest the chemo call Nimotuzumab.It is quite new and clinical trials are still on going. Its given by IV infusion and results shows significant benefits for high grade gliomas. I do not know the cost yet.

The other alternative treatment is a combination of DCA and Laetrile. I am still researching on it. DCA or Dichloroacetate is a toxic chemical that can cause imbalance, finger numbness and nerve damage. It did shrink tumor in rats but is not tested on humans yet. Thus it is not approve in US but some Canadian Drs are prescribing it to their patients.

We are still in the wait and see attitude as we just finished our cytotron not long ago. We certainly do not wish to jump into the chemo wagon as it is so toxic and damaging. Moreover Norman have had 6 cycles of Temodar in 2008. We are praying that the cytotron is effective in controlling the tumor growth. Will be repeating a MRI in June.

Dorothy

Completed cytotron treatment

We completed our cytotron therapy on the 8th April. It was a relief! To me, it was a renew hope. A hope that this will be the break through for Norman, that this will be the tretment that will cure him. BUT 2 days after he finished his treatment, he had a grand mal seizure! It happen early in the morning at 6.30am. He was lying in bed doing leg lifts when he felt twitching on his face. I sense something wrong and as i put my hand over his face, I started to pray. His hands and legs started jerking followed by his whole body jerking violently. His head was contorted to the side, his eyeball was rolled up, he was hissing saliva and gasping for air at the same time! I cried out to God for mercy. As a nurse I have seen patients having fits but nothing is more heart wrenching than seeing Norman suffering from such a severe fit. It lasted about 2 to 3 mins. He was daze for a few hours after that and he got weaker on the right side. I increased his fits medication and commenced steroids again. The cytotron Dr said that most probably its the edema causing the fits. It could be the tumor too.
We are still praying for god's miracle and we will continue to uphold our life to God. God is good, all the time.
May God bless you.