Friends and Family,

Things are looking up, at least enough so that my eyes are on the horizon. Genevieve and I got the results of my first scan since starting patritumab this week, and the results are positive. There has been no growth in the cancer. 

There are people close to me who now take it for granted that any treatment I try is going to work. This is not the norm. Even my oncologist told me, “everything we try works for you.” I hadn’t thought of what an anomaly this is, and it gives me even more to be grateful for.

The necrosis in my jaw, the lockjaw, and the related infection are another matter. I lost twenty pounds since the beginning of the year between the lockjaw, the nausea, and the diarrhea (and gained back seven). I went off the antibiotics to help with the nausea and diarrhea, but the infection returned and my jaw tightened up almost immediately. However, there is another solution. If the antibiotics are taken IV, the gut problems go away. It’s taken a while to coordinate, but I had a port put in my chest on Thursday. After more coordination this coming week between docs from three specialties, I hope to start antibiotic home infusion. It will also make getting patritumab infusions, blood draws, and CT scans easier. Even though my veins look like a roadmap, for the past three years it has taken anywhere from 2-6 needle jabs to get an IV started. With a port it’s very hard to miss the target!

Once this is done, it will make it easier to go for longer walks and get out to do some spring yardwork. Quality of life matters, and I can see mine coming back. Eyes above the horizon again!

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: We blew right past my initial fundraising goal of $10,000, so of course I raised it to $15,000. Now we have blown past that! So far, we have raised $16,548! Thank you to everyone who has donated!

I’m hoping we can reach $20,000 by April 23rd, which is my birthday. What an amazing gift that would be! And remember, all donations made will be QUADRUPLED. Donate $1 and you have raised $4 for lung cancer research. That means that as of today, we have raised $16,548 x 4 = $66,192!!!

If we raise another $3,452 by April 23rd, we will reach $80,000! Donate today at https://fundraise.lungevity.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.personalCampaign&participantID=73342. It helps to know that your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Love,

Dann

This blog was published by Dann’s Cancer Chronicles on April 14, 2024. It is republished with permission.