Also glad you have a plan in place, and even back-up, if needed. Good luck with the trial, and although not curative, it may allow more time, offers hope, and who knows what new drugs, treatments, may come out in the near future.

Good luck.

Hellion, good luck with the trial. Also glad to know that there are second and third line possibilities.

Hi Hellion

I've been following this thread with hopes to get some information for my mother. As it stands now Palliative care is our only option.

My mothers cancer is wraping around her Carotid Artery and cancer cells are in the cheek of her face and neck. At this point surgery or radiation is not an option.

My mother had treatment of Cisplatin with F5U and her cancer did not respond to this treatment at all.

We went to MD Anderson two weeks ago to see if there was a Clinical Trial available to help her. We were told about a Trial that consist of a immune drug and a Chemo drug. It was suppose to build the immune system so the body could fight off the cancer. Then when the oncologist compared the CT scans from home after the Cisplatin to the present CT scans taken at MD Anderson it showed no improvement after the Cisplatin so that disqualified my mother for the clinical trial.

The oncologist at MD Anderson recommended Carboplatin/Taxol. We agreed to do this treatment. The MD Anderson Oncologist is going to work together with my mothers oncologist here in Louisiana. We decided to stay in Louisiana to take the treatment because if my mother gets to sick from treatment I need a Doctor/Hospital to bring her to.

Hopefully after this treatment my mother will show some improvement and the Clinical Trial may be an option.

I admire your courage and determination as you battle this horrible cancer. We are not giving up either and hopefully at the end of the road we will beat the odds.

Prayers to you
Heidi

We are all with you brother. Keep the chin up.

YAY... glad they have something on the go. And the one thing I don't understand is the taking their time thing. With the moderate growth etc. They can't predict that - I disagree totally with that tact - cancer is cancer. It changes and as the body gets weaker it gains more of a foot hold. So time is always of the essence (as the appearance of a second tumor would indicate. In that situation I tend to personalize it to the drs. If this was a close family member - your child? mother? sibling? Would you want to take your time?

Hugs... don't know for buying time. Hope for a cure and thing positively.

Glad to hear they have plan for you. You're in my thoughts!

Ditto , keep fighting . Thank you for the up date I have been following your posts and thinking of you.
Di

So today we begin. I will try and post at least every week or so to describe the process in case it should come up for anyone else. I was randomly selected into the group that receives the experimental from the outset which is good so I took my first dose today and will take it every day from now until....?

The side effects of the study are expected to be light and mostly related to the Cetuximab/Erbitux (which I will henceforth refer to as Erbitux). The study will continue until:
1) It is determined it has no effect (this happens in some percentage of people but the study has not yet released those numbers)
2) The side effects reach a point where QoL becomes something we have to discuss
3) Something better comes along or I am miraculously cured

For what it's worth, I am quite hopeful that this is a miracle drug and that weekly infusions are as bad as it gets for at least some length of time to be determined.

And so it goes....

Keeping you in my thoughts, Hellion.

Best of luck and wishing the best of outcomes for you.

Don