OT-- Update on kicking the Beast

[Marvel]

Some have asked me to post the progress on my wife Barbara's fight with Melanoma.

She started treatment at Emory U. Hospital on Tuesday. She has had five

doses/bags of IL-2, an immuno-therapy drug. Administered every eight

hours. Today she is beginning to swell, due to a side effect of the

treatment. All the capillaries leak fluid. Maximum number in one cycle

is 14 doses/bags. Most don't ever get that far.

She is becoming nauseous as well, so is finding it hard to eat. Blood

pressure keeps dropping too low so they could stop the treatment. They

try to counteract all the side effects as quickly as possible.

She would start another round 21 days from the start of the first. Then

they would do more scans to see if it is working at all. If not, they

will stop the treatment. Otherwise they keep going.

Support at the hospital has been great, as well as the prayers and

support from all our friends and family, the Klipsch forum members included.

She will probably be there over Labor Day, but home after that, to

recoup for the next round. Then she will again enjoy the fabulous music

coming through the Merlin (had to get that in [] ). She likes it a

lot.

Later guys. We're praying for all the folks in Louisiana and

Mississippi. Got friends there too. Makes you realize you aren't the

center of the universe.

Bruce

[MrMcGoo]

We had a family member go through chemo. Her chances of a complete remission were one in three. Two and a half years later, she is still in complete remission and doing well.

My prayers and best wishes are with your wife. I'm glad that they determined that she is a suitable candidate for the treatment protocol. It's best to take such difficult situations one day at a time.

Bill

[thebes]

Sounds rough, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for both of you.

Marty

[Daddy Dee]

Bruce,

Thanks for the update. Keeping you guys before the Lord.

[PAR69]

Bruce,

Thanks for the update. I hope your wife begins to feel better

soon. I think a positive mental attitude helps a great

deal. Keep her spirits up!

My father, age 72, has been fighting cancer of the esophagusfor 3

years. He had it beat for about 2.5 years, but in the past 2

months that cancer has turned aggressive and the outlook is not

good. He has been undergoing stronger and stronger doses of chemo

and it is taking it's toll. At the beginning of August, I got the

call to go home as he was not expected to last out the week. He

pulled out of it when he heard his family was coming to see him.

She is in my thoughts and prayers. And the offer of a place to stay is still open, I'm only about 25 miles from Emory.

Paul

[Griffinator]

Some have asked me to post the progress on my wife Barbara's fight with Melanoma.

She started treatment at Emory U. Hospital on Tuesday. She has had five

doses/bags of IL-2, an immuno-therapy drug. Administered every eight

hours. Today she is beginning to swell, due to a side effect of the

treatment. All the capillaries leak fluid. Maximum number in one cycle

is 14 doses/bags. Most don't ever get that far.

She is becoming nauseous as well, so is finding it hard to eat. Blood

pressure keeps dropping too low so they could stop the treatment. They

try to counteract all the side effects as quickly as possible.

As aghast at the idea as you probably would be, marijuana is the best

anti-nausea agent available - and not the synthetic THC tabs, but the

real thing, inhaled instead of eaten - even a leading DEA judge

recommended that marijuana be dropped to a class II drug because of the

overwhelming evidence of its effectiveness in this application.

Something to think about, anyway...