Cycle 1, Week 3

We are noticing some good side effects! Several of Kev's subcutaneous tumors are shrinking. The effect is small but noticeable. We don't know about the internal tumors until he gets a new CT scan, which will be after Cycle 2. It's great though that we can see (and feel) some results from these meds for all the discomforts he has to put up with. The fatigue and flue-like symptoms continue as does the sensitive tongue and cracking skin. Ibuprofen helps with mild fever aches & pains and he has a salt/baking soda mouth wash to help the tongue.

We had a regular follow-up appointment with the Orthopaedic surgeon. He took a new x-ray of the hip and said everything looks great. The artificial joint has not shifted and Kev has healed very well from the surgery. However despite his attempts to gain weight he is still losing - down another pound this week. Kev now weighs 135 and was put on an appetite "enhancer" - Megestrol.

Cycle 1, Week 2

Side effects are getting stronger. The palms of Kev's hands are cracking and his tongue is extremely sensitive. He is trying to eat soft bland foods. He lost about 10 lbs in Jan because of the side-effects of the radiation treatments so we have been trying to get him to gain weight, but when he weighed in this week he was another pound down.

Cycle 1, Week 1

Kev started his first cyle of Sorafenib/Paclitaxel on Wednesday. So far side-effects are minimal - mild flu-like symptoms.
And good news - our insurance company has agreed to cover the treatment!

Driving

Kev is now 6 months free of seizures and is therefore driving again - on a limited basis at least. It has been almost 1 year exactly since his first seizure and when he had to stop driving. He is very glad to be owner of his own schedule again.

The Next Phase

A little over a week ago (1/24) we met with Kev's Oncologist. He offered us the chance to get into a clinical trial that Kev had wanted to do last summer so we jumped at it. First new scans had to be performed, so appointments were set up for later that night and the following day. The brain MRI had to come back clean otherwise he wouldn't qualify. And an appt was scheduled for us to meet with the clinical trials Dr the following week (1/31).

However, when we came back for the appt with the trials Dr, we were informed that the next available opening was in four weeks. Although his brain MRI was clean, the CT scans indicated a lot of new growth so it was decided that we did not want to wait and opted for plan B, which used one of the same drugs from the trial. Plan B consists of taking an oral med, Nexavar(Sorafenib) along with an IV drug Abraxane(Paclitaxel). (The trial was Nexavar with an experimental drug CCI-779)

Nexavar targets two separate enzymes that regulate the cell cycle. It targets both the RAF/MEK/ERK signaling pathway to inhibit cell proliferation and the VEGFR-2/PDGFR-ß signaling cascade to inhibit tumor angiogenesis. In common language that means it supresses the formation of cells and new blood vessels.

Abraxane kills cancer cells by affecting its ability to stop cell division. It works by damaging the RNA or DNA that tells the cells how to copy itself in division. If the cells are unable to divide, they die. The faster the cells are dividing, the more likely it is that chemotherapy will kill the cells, causing the tumor to shrink. They also induce apoptosis (cell suicide).

Treatment is scheduled to begin on Wed 2/7.