Moving FORWARD

Wow. I can't even begin to describe the emotions for Andy, Jen, I, Mom, Dad, and others who have just heard the news. Dana Farber came through quickly (THANK YOU!). The preliminary results from Wednesday's biopsy are in, and as suspected / expected by DFCI, Andy's cancer has a somatic genetic mutation called EGFR+. Getting this information is HUGE both physically and emotionally.

Andy will begin a targeted therapeutic treatment path using an oral drug called Tarceva tonight. This is a much different approach to fighting cancer (the way of the future) than the treatment path he had been on this spring.

Chemotherapy is the first line treatment for Stage IV cancers. Stage IV, by categorization, have spread beyond the initial site and have metastasized. Chemotherapy is a systemic poison - it travels throughout the body, ideally killing the cancer cells that have spread; the down side is that it also kills good, healthy fast growing cells (like hair, for example) and has some pretty nasty side effects. And, while there are recommended paths, it can be hit or miss. In Andy's case it was miss.

Targeted therapeutics work in a different manner. As indicated by the name, they kill just those cells with those markings. In this case, Tarceva will target cells that have the EGFR+ gene mutation.

This is a great new option for Andy. By no means is his fight over, the way that we are looking at it now is that he has a new weapon in the arsenal that has a better success of fighting his specific type of NSCLC cancer, with less harmful side effects. We

Thank you all again for the help in getting here - it has been a long road already, and we continue to gain strength in our fight

And to those at DFCI who I have added to the blog - thank you. Your dedication to treating patients make you heroes to patients and their families everyday.