We saw Dr. Cheerva today at the clinic who went over her CT scan results with us. The tumor on her liver is definitely smaller than the last scan. There are no tumors on her spleen, the only reason it was noted on the results was because the contrast made it react some. Her right lung is relatively clear of all tumors. Her left lung however has some tumors that have gone away, one tumor has gotten bigger, and there are new tumors. Dr. Cheerva said the new tumors could have been there all along but were hard to see because of the fluid she had in her lung. She doesn't want to assume that is the case and is treating them like they are definitely new growths.
She said on Tuesday she met with the tumor board. They discussed Ambrosia and her type of tumor and were trying to come up with the next plan of action. After looking at different protocols for treatments for her kind of tumor, they have decided to try a different chemo medicine that she has not gotten previously. This protocol is generally used to treat this rhabdoid tumor when it occurs in the brain. The new chemo medicine is slightly more aggressive than what she has been given already. In addition to the one new medicine, the other medicines that she has already been given will be given at a higher dosage. With these treatments we will be in the hospital 5 days for one cycle and 4 days for the other cycle.
Dr. Cheerva is expecting us to be on this new treatment protocol for at least 6 weeks. They will continue to do CT scans in between treatments to check the progress of the tumors. We will begin this new regimen tomorrow. Because we are starting tomorrow, Ambrosia had to have a GFR scan of her kidneys to see how they were functioning, an EKG and heart echo, and a hearing test this afternoon. Luckily everybody was running on time and we were able to get to each respective appointment with no hiccups! The only one I know the results of is her hearing test, which is still perfect. Dr. Cheerva mentioned this new medicine can affect the hearing even more than the previous medicines have so they will be monitoring that closely. She also said there can be more neurological effects from this medicine, such as eye drooping and not being able to grasp as well with her fingers. They will be monitoring that closely as well.
Dr. Cheerva said she is extremely hesitant about surgery with Ambrosia as far as the wait time with recovery from surgery to when they could do chemo again. She doesn't want to give the tumors any chance to reappear and grow in between those times. She is hoping this new protocol will get rid of all tumors so there will be no need for surgery and we can skip ahead to the high dose of chemo that will require the transplant of her already collected stem cells. She of course said we will reevaluate as we go and if surgery is necessary then it will happen.
Please continue to keep Ambrosia in your thoughts and prayers. This is one speed bump we are going to get over and will be on our way to a full recovery!
She said on Tuesday she met with the tumor board. They discussed Ambrosia and her type of tumor and were trying to come up with the next plan of action. After looking at different protocols for treatments for her kind of tumor, they have decided to try a different chemo medicine that she has not gotten previously. This protocol is generally used to treat this rhabdoid tumor when it occurs in the brain. The new chemo medicine is slightly more aggressive than what she has been given already. In addition to the one new medicine, the other medicines that she has already been given will be given at a higher dosage. With these treatments we will be in the hospital 5 days for one cycle and 4 days for the other cycle.
Dr. Cheerva is expecting us to be on this new treatment protocol for at least 6 weeks. They will continue to do CT scans in between treatments to check the progress of the tumors. We will begin this new regimen tomorrow. Because we are starting tomorrow, Ambrosia had to have a GFR scan of her kidneys to see how they were functioning, an EKG and heart echo, and a hearing test this afternoon. Luckily everybody was running on time and we were able to get to each respective appointment with no hiccups! The only one I know the results of is her hearing test, which is still perfect. Dr. Cheerva mentioned this new medicine can affect the hearing even more than the previous medicines have so they will be monitoring that closely. She also said there can be more neurological effects from this medicine, such as eye drooping and not being able to grasp as well with her fingers. They will be monitoring that closely as well.
Dr. Cheerva said she is extremely hesitant about surgery with Ambrosia as far as the wait time with recovery from surgery to when they could do chemo again. She doesn't want to give the tumors any chance to reappear and grow in between those times. She is hoping this new protocol will get rid of all tumors so there will be no need for surgery and we can skip ahead to the high dose of chemo that will require the transplant of her already collected stem cells. She of course said we will reevaluate as we go and if surgery is necessary then it will happen.
Please continue to keep Ambrosia in your thoughts and prayers. This is one speed bump we are going to get over and will be on our way to a full recovery!
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