Sutent
Good afternoon everyone.
I have more news about my Dad and I am afraid it is not very good. The Gleevec that my Dad has been taking has failed. As you know, my Dad’s GIST returned to his liver and the hope was that an increased dose of Gleevec would knock it back. It did not. The tumors continue to grow at a startling pace. The next step is to switch to a different drug called Sutent. The hope is that Sutent would reduce the tumors where Gleevec could not and get them small enough that my Dad could have more surgery. We could know whether that is going to work in as little as a week.
If the tumors continue to grow or fail to shrink, there are still some options, but they are less clear. As far as we know now, at that point surgery would not be an option. There may be a radioactive drug that could be used directly on the tumor. There may also be clinical trials for different drugs that my Dad could join which would likely require traveling to a place like Boston or North Carolina. And, of course, maybe there is something else we don’t know about yet.
All of that means, that we really want these tumors to shrink…right now.
Thank you all again for your prayers. Please keep them coming.
I have more news about my Dad and I am afraid it is not very good. The Gleevec that my Dad has been taking has failed. As you know, my Dad’s GIST returned to his liver and the hope was that an increased dose of Gleevec would knock it back. It did not. The tumors continue to grow at a startling pace. The next step is to switch to a different drug called Sutent. The hope is that Sutent would reduce the tumors where Gleevec could not and get them small enough that my Dad could have more surgery. We could know whether that is going to work in as little as a week.
If the tumors continue to grow or fail to shrink, there are still some options, but they are less clear. As far as we know now, at that point surgery would not be an option. There may be a radioactive drug that could be used directly on the tumor. There may also be clinical trials for different drugs that my Dad could join which would likely require traveling to a place like Boston or North Carolina. And, of course, maybe there is something else we don’t know about yet.
All of that means, that we really want these tumors to shrink…right now.
Thank you all again for your prayers. Please keep them coming.
Comments
I'm sorry to hear the latest news about your dad. Cancer and the treatment thereof can put a patient and his / her family into a tailspin of emotions and options and "what ifs" that seems endless.
I've been praying for your dad.
Cancer cells can never destroy Dad. Any power the cancer has is temporary. Dad is not temporary. That is where the true power lies.
Cancer cells are nothing to God. Your dad is everything to God. So are you.
We are praying for you and your Dad even as you are reading this.
Much love,
T & P