We were hooked up with one of MD Anderson's most senior Medical Oncologists today. After reviewing Lisa's records, he said that they would have given Lisa the same treatments as we've gotten in Huntsville, in the same order and progression, which is a nice confirmation that we've done the right things.
The MD Anderson Medical Oncologist agrees with our Radiation Oncologist in Huntsville - and even gives better "odds"... he said that in their experience, a patient like Lisa has a 30%-40% likelihood that the radiation/chemo already given will continue to work with an ultimate result of undetectable cancer, and may be even higher because she's never smoked. He said not to be discouraged that the first rounds of chemo alone didn't work, since the radiation/chemo combination has clearly caused a substantial reduction in the tumor.
Regarding ongoing treatment, the Oncologist here said that there is no benefit to starting "maintenance chemo" at this time... the MD Anderson protocol would be to let the radiation/chemo that's already been given continue to work. If the next 90-day and other future scans show continued reduction or even a stable/no-growth condition, then they would not treat with maintenance chemo, regardless of the outcome of the EGFR test. That's certainly different than our local oncologist's recommendation, so we're considering that, and we'll work that out when we get back home. Also, in addition to the EGFR test, if it shows negative, they've suggested doing an ALK test, but both of these are data to be kept for possible future treatment, not immediate treatment.
We had planned to see a Radiation Oncologist while we're here, but taking the first available appointment means we'll have to stay for another 5 days until that comes up. Now that we're in MD Anderson's "system" and have our records and scans, it's easy for our Huntsville Radiation Oncologist to consult with the doctors here, and he says we don't need to stay the extra days in Houston just for that "face time" appointment. Meanwhile, we've asked MD Anderson's staff to see if they can "work us in" this afternoon or tomorrow anyway. We'll probably end up being able to come home this weekend.
It's all good news today... and we're praising God for it.
