A bit of a Setback...

Hello Dear Ones,

   Well, we got our first dose of somber news this past Friday; a change from the massively good news we've been receiving since Annie began 

the

chemo protocol we've been following since July, and which has proven so effective thus far.  It looks as though this cancer is finally developing some resistance to this regimen.  The CT scan showed a "mild increase" in the size of the tumors in Annie's lungs and abdomen/pelvis.   It's not that the treatment has stopped working, but it is not proving quite as effective as it was.  I think it's important for us all to remember that these tumors were huge only months ago, and though we're not crazy about the fact that they're not continuing to shrink and be gone at the moment, there is no new tumor growth evident, and the increase in existing tumors is incremental. Also, there was one tumor in her lungs that is smaller.  AND, Annie's kidneys, adrenal glands, spleen and liver are clean and clear.  

  So, where do we go from here?   Dr. Peters, our oncologist will be talking with Dr. Keohan from Memorial Sloan Kettering, the doc who recommended the protocol we're following, this week to see if there's an adjustment we want to make to the chemo we're using.  Also, there is one tumor that is subcutaneous - very close to the surface of Annie's skin on her lower belly - and easy to remove.  That will happen under a local anesthetic this Tuesday in Dr. Peters' office.  That tumor will be sent to a lab in California that can then examine and mess with it (my official terminology here) to see what it will respond to in terms of shrinkage and growth, depending on what they do to it.  This  could provide some really useful information for our team in how to treat this lms.  (Annie note here: we are hoping to have enough tissue from this little mass 1.1 X 1.1 cm to be able to do both chemo-resistance testing, to help guide treatment as well as tumor marker testing to give us more information about the behavior of the cancer so we can see if there are other approaches/treatments that might be useful.  So, it may be very lucky to have this little tumor pop up, it is so superficial that he doesn't need to get into my belly to get it and we may get some information from it.)

  Until we receive some sort of new direction in treatment that makes sense to us, we will continue to follow the regimen we are on.  It may not be as effective, but the fact that the tumor growth is "mild" , and that one is smaller, means that it's still doing something, and we want to keep pushing back with what we know is at least helpful before we switch courses.

  So, we dig a little deeper into our personal reserves of strength and faith, our warrior poses and all of the other mantras and routines that centers us, alone and as a family.  And we, of course, continue to thrive on and receive such deep comfort from our Annie's Army team.  We love you.    

Anita

Addendum from Annie:  Hello there, wonderful people.  

I believe one of the main reasons why my treatment has been so massively effective so far (aside from a great match with the chemo medicines and all the complementary therapies I am doing), is all the prayers and visualizations coming from this powerful community.  Thank you for that.  

If you are so inclined, I would be very grateful for all your continued prayers and visualizations.  With gratitude, I picture me (completely cancer-free), fit, vibrantly healthy hiking the Wonderland trail encircling Mount Rainier on a sunny summer day with my beautiful wife and kids (I see Gabe at seven or eight and Hazel a leggy fifteen), and I see myself surfing next year on a longboard, and I see Gabe's graduation and Hazel's first baby.  And in all these visualization I, of course, have fabulous hair and the kind of eyebrows that would make Brooke Shields envious!!!!

Thank you for being part of my healing.  With Love & Gratitude, XOXO  annie