Macrobeads

Yesterday, Roni and I went to see another oncologist to get a second opinion about doing more chemo. She pretty much told us what we expected to hear, that it was up to me when to start. There were benefits to starting before symptoms appear, but that there was no need to start right away. She also concurred that the chemo regimen that Dr. Loggie and Dr. Ratner suggested was the right way to go.

Then, she gave us another suggestion that sounded worthwhile to explore. There is a clinical trial being done by The Rogosin Institute where macrobeads containing mouse kidney cancer cells are implanted into the abdominal cavity as a biological treatment. They are implanted during an laproscopic surgical procedure, so the recovery shouldn't be that bad. The good thing is that since this is NOT chemo, there are no side major side effects. The only side effect that she mentioned was an elevated temperature because your body is working harder to fight off the foreign objects.

You can read more about the trial here:

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00283075

I have to make an appointment to meet with the doctor doing the study to find out if I'm a candidate, but if I am, it's certainly something worth considering. When I know more, I'll let you know.

Until then, Roni and I continue to get excited about and plan for our two weeks vacation in Australia. And no, I am not going to eat any Vegemite.