We met with Dr. Colman early this morning to discuss treatment options. I went to the appointment a little nervous, because I was afraid he was going to put us back on the radiation and temodar (chemo) plan, and my thoughts are if it didn't work the first time, why do it again?
I was kind of relieved to hear a new plan, but one I think we're still going to have to think about and really feel good about before proceeding. He suggested putting him on Avastin. Avastin restricts the blood vessels, which will help control the swelling, but will also prevent tumor growth. But he mentioned that the active cancer cells will not be controlled by Avastin, so they are doing a trial right now that is in Stage II (meaning they've figured out the right dose to give, but don't have enough information to give statistics or results) where they add another drug that has been used in other cancers, that they are hoping to control those active cancer cells. They've already submitted Jared's paperwork for pre-approval, but we won't know for a little bit if he is officially approved or not. The fact that he's on blood thinners may cause a problem.
He did mention that radiation could be an option down the road if the Avastin isn't working.
We're not new to Avastin. Jared's mom was on Avastin, and it didn't seem to do much for her, and I might be completely wrong, but Avastin seemed to be a last resort, short-term fix. But the doctor seemed to think this could "buy" several months or longer.
My thoughts are that we need to try anything and everything, because Jared just might be the ONE person that responds to a certain treatment that others didn't respond to. Like I said before, the only option I wasn't thrilled about was going back to chemo/radiation, because it didn't work. We've got to try something new.
I think we're both pretty comfortable with this plan. He will go in 3 times/month, 2 of them will be IV infusions of the Avastin. But Colman said they wouldn't start that until 4 weeks after his surgery. So I have time to explore other options. I did explore a couple months ago, and there didn't seem to be much, but something new may have come up.
When we got home, it was still pretty early and I was REALLY tired, (Averie for some reason has been getting up 3-4 times every night! I'm starting to consider the Benadryl option so I don't lose my mind!!!), so I tried to put on something for the kids to watch so I could attempt a short nap. Cinderella was on TV, and it seemed to hold their attention, so I gave it a try.
I think I slept about 30 seconds before Averie woke me up, so I was trying to get back to sleep, and for some reason I heard what was being said on the movie (probably the only 30 seconds I actually paid attention to the entire time):
Cinderella (crying to herself): "I can't believe. Not anymore. There's nothing left to believe in... NOTHING!" Then Fairy Godmother appears: "Nothing, my dear? Now you don't really mean that!" And Cinderella responds, "Oh, but I do!" And Fairy Godmother says, "If you'd lost all your faith, I couldn't be here! Dry those tears... But we have to hurry, because even MIRACLES take a little time."
I've always believed that Jared's mom couldn't be too far away in all of this. I know she's probably his biggest support and cheerleader right now. But I've had some experiences just recently that have made me think that my grandma (my dad's mom) is also very aware of our situation, and that she, too, is close by. And both of these women had exceptional faith. I can even picture my grandma putting her arm around me and saying the exact words to me that Fairy Godmother used.
I don't believe this dumb little experience today was just a dumb experience. I think it was another confirmation to me that we are not alone in all of this. We probably have even more than two "Fairy Godmothers" helping us along. But even more important, I DO believe that "even miracles take a little time!"
