You have all of my best and prayers. Check out COBRA for the Ins. It's a law where the Ins has to keep you on as long as you can foot the bill.

Thanks again for all of the warm wishes!

The news isn't great, yet not surprising. We are hoping/praying for a miracle with the clinical trial. It's only Phase II, so we really don't have any idea how effective it might be. The good news is that the tumors are growing so quickly that we might be able to tell in a week or two if it is working or not. The bad news is that the tumors are growing quickly. The doctor let us know last night that we might be looking at 6mos or less.

research ways to boost the immune system which may well help the clinical trial to work better and faster. of course always consult with the doctors on measures you wish to take, but it is her body and she can choose to do as she wishes. supplementals have been shown to really boost the effectiveness of many treatments yet some doctors still refuse to admit / recognize how helpful they can be ... the nice thing is many have seen the results now for themselves and embrace it... so research it all and talk to them and see what can be done to make the most of it. best wishes to you and your partner. i am sure this is a very hard time and nothing makes much sense right now. hang in there and let us know what we can do to help in any way we can.

I know how you must be feeling about now, having been in a similar position less than a year ago. My heart goes out to both of you. Hopefully this clinical trial will buy some time and quality of life for your partner and also you.
You should also make connections with a hospice program so that when the need arises they will be ready to assist you. Maybe this is already in place through your cancer treatment centre. Hospice does a wonderful job with symptom control and emotional support and all the little things that make such a big difference for patient and family dealing with a life threatening illness.
Were you able to get some better pain management and wound care guidance for the neck tumour when you saw the doctors?
Wishing you strength and courage to face the challenging days ahead.

the odour problem with tumours that break through the skin ,has been debated on here many times,and is unfortunately one which never seems to really have a definitive answer.Robs smelt so badly that when he went in to the hospice ,it permeated the whople place.they placed an electronic air purifier outside his door,and a small one with lavender oil under his bed..they also packed his face with charcoal ,which absorbs the odour.the biggest danger with break through,is erosion of the major arteries which can heamorrhage and cause a real medical emergency.

Make sure you speak to a practioner about putting emergency procedures in to place in case of this eventuality.

i wish you luck with the trial..

Liz

Thanks for the advice. In terms of pain management, they are upping the fentnyl patch, increased frequency of oxycodone (every 3 hours), and starting a new pain medication that addresses nerve pain (for both nueropathy and neck pain). We are going to try these and see if they work.

I'll be getting them filled today.

Hi I am curious to know what med is used for nueropathy and nerve pain as both my husband and I have severe damage due to diabeties...this effects both feet and hands...

Thanks

Dianne

I am getting it filled today, so this is just what I can make out from the doctor's script. It looks like Pregabalin? 75mg. I haven't had a chance to look it up online yet. There is also a neuropathy board and someone there mentioned a patch that goes on the feet. I'll see if I can find that again for you.

It is Pregabalin. Apparently it's the generic name for Lyrica.

Thank you but I don't think that is covered under our plan in Canada...Does it work or you don't know yet...I really need something that works... We were given a trial sample of that drug a while back but only 14 days worth and didn't want to start it in case we couldn't get more but if it works it might be something to try to fight for...