CT Scan Results - Path Forward

We went to the hospital yesterday to get her CT Scans done around 12:00pm. After the scans, we had an hour or so until we were to meet with Dr. Paluri to discuss the results. We stopped by her office and she talked with her co-workers for a little bit. A coincidence I assume, that yesterday (June 6) was also her termination date, so there was some joking around about that. 

              

We made our way back to the clinic side of the hospital, got checked in, and waited for Dr. Paluri. He went over the results. The tumors in the liver had grown, and multiplied. Same with the lungs. There were no signs that it had spread to anywhere else in the body, so that is something to be thankful for. 

There aren't very many options, much less any good ones. 
Two of the options are Phase 1 trials, with very little data (tumor response rates, adverse events %, side effects, etc..) because this is a "first in human" trial. That is kind of the point of a Phase 1 trial, to see what happens and establish dosage. What little info they do have (from the handful of patients that have tried these) is showing a 20-30% chance of response (keeps tumors from growing, or slightly shrinks them). This little info also shows that it could increase lifespan by 2 to 8 months IF (20-30%) it works. The side effects are manageable from what they know so far. The downside of a Phase 1 trial, is all of the time & energy it consumes (which we are already short on). Because it is first in human, they want to monitor everything, a lot.

One of the trials requires hospitalization for the first 5 days after treatment to monitor effects, then several trips to the hospital thereafter for tests, blood draws, etc.. throughout the treatment process.
The other trial does not require being admitted, but for the first cycle (one month) they need blood draws every other day, multiple PET, CT, & MRI scans, EKG, and other tests. IF it works, and they proceed to cycle two (2nd month) that tapers off some to blood draws twice a month, and a few PET & CT scans, and a few other tests. 

Both of these trials are somewhat invasive, time & energy consuming, and have risks.
Another option is the Standard of Care maintenance chemo pill, which has a 10% chance of working, side effects are pretty rough, and it only has the possibility of adding a couple months. I think it is more of a last ditch effort at the end, if someone really wanted/needed to extend life by a month or two no matter the cost. The last option I guess is no treatment. Not much more to say about that.

To be blunt and honest, unless we find something that works to stop the progression, we are looking at around 6 months. 

We have been talking and praying about this decision, and will continue to do so until we reach one. 
There are a lot of moving parts here and there is no right or wrong decision. 

If you pick one of the Phase 1 trials, and it works, you have added a few months, but you have also consumed a few months of your time and energy with how involved it is. 

We are searching the systems online to make sure there is not another clinical trial out there (not at Wake) that could potentially be a better fit for her with better odds of response & time adding, without being to aggressive from the side effect standpoint. 

The bad part about her specific cancer and mutations, is how aggressive they are. It has went through three re-challenged lines already, so it is going to be tough to find something that will work, which is why the odds are reduced down more-so than what other patients might be seeing with the same options. Nevertheless, we are searching the systems, reaching out to people for info, etc.. because the options we have now are not that great. So if we want a shot at really changing things here and really adding time with decent odds, we have to go outside the box to find something if it even exists. Otherwise this is where we are at.

That is really all there is to say at this point. We are talking, praying, researching, and thinking real hard about all of the different parts of this. I ask that everyone please not bombard Christian's phone (calls, texts, facebook, messenger, etc..) right now as we process and work through this. I understand it can be easy to be overwhelmed reading all of this, and you probably really want to reach out to show your support, but she is the common denominator in this situation, and it can be overwhelming. If we can leave the tech communication lines open between her and her family and very close friends (that is consuming enough) that would be great.

BUT... I can tell you what she DOES like though.. cards in the mail, letters, surprise little gifts, etc..

If you feel like supporting her in another way beyond thoughts and prayers, surprise her with a card or letter in the mail. She loves getting them. Our address is below.

Christian Eisenhauer
6588 Woodmere Drive
Walkertown, NC 27051

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers and everything. This has been a tough road so far for her, but it is not over. God can still change things and he doesn't need anything to do that. We will put up a post later on when we have more information worth sharing.