[phil]

Bob, please keep us posted on your wifes t dm-1 tx. Good luck, God Bless . It is a great drug for her2, . Recent NY Times article ( peter canellos , (sp ?), June article ) quoted researchers as saying it has the BEST survival rates so far for ANY her2 drug ! , and in EMILIA decisively outperformed tykerb/xeloda . L. has been doing great on it for nearly 2 yrs. Some are at 4 yrs and counting. It is very common to have a fever, chills w/in several days of taking t dm-1. That s/e often goes away after several doses as body adjusts to it. We did go to er once or twice w/ fever over 100.5 . no ongoing problem. The one time we ignored the fever , it turned out to be sepsis related to stents L. had , nearly killed her, so follow protocol for fevers !
cardiac risks have to be weighed against risks of a very aggressive cancer. Lorraine was in good physical strength prior to cancer , not a smoker, not much of a drinker, regular exerciser. She has passed every echo w/ flying colors . 6 yrs of near continous herc ., last 2 herc w/in t dm-1. My mantra for aggressive cancers is aggressive tx first, w/ as much wholistic living as possible w/in that tx., adding more and more wholistic tx as sxs subside. Conventional tx first, alternative as secondary , for the early part of Stage IV fight. I feel that many cancers will turn out to be related to pervasive chemical pollution in environment, coupled w/ genetic susceptibility , that we cannot avoid simply by diet, exercise , etc. Nothing wrong w/ healthy living, and it can strengthen us greatly for the battle, and future healthier living.