patty z
03-24-2004, 05:35 AM
I really don't know what to tell you at this point... I am pasting some information here. don't know if it will help. It is not specifically for brain mets, but lining of brain. Yet, MAYBE contact with this center or doctor could give you some useful information.
love and hugs to you both,
pattyz
Hermelin Brain Tumor Center Offers First-of-its-Kind Treatment
When one meets and talks with Mary Anne Moco, it's difficult to believe she is battling cancer.
The 41-year-old Livonia resident, wife and mother of four children ages 2-14 is bright, cheerful, smiling, optimistic. For her, the glass appears half full.
Several years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Because of the advanced nature, she underwent a mastectomy, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. The diagnosis at that point looked good.
"I was doing great," recalled Moco.
But last fall, an MRI revealed that not all the cancer had been eradicated – in fact, it had spread. It was in the lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It was a difficult cancer to treat, with a difficult name to pronounce: leptomeningeal metastasis.
For some cancer patients, the story ends there. Typically, they are told to return home to say goodbye to friends and family; that medicine, and its best arsenal of tools and technologies, have nothing to offer, not even hope.
But not so for Mary Anne Moco.
Her physician suggested an experimental treatment, the first of its kind in the country, being offered at Henry Ford Hospital, and pioneered by Lisa Rogers, D.O., co-director of the Medical Neuro-oncology Program at Henry Ford’s Hermelin Brain Tumor Center. Dr. Rogers specializes in neurologic complications of cancer and primary and metastatic brain tumors.
So last November, Moco began her new therapy. At the heart of the therapy is a computer programmed drug delivery system developed by Medtronic, Inc. The implanted drug delivery system allows physicians to provide precisely programmed dosages of chemotherapy at the appropriate time intervals.
This approach, developed by Dr. Rogers and Henry Ford neurosurgeon Fredrick Junn, M.D., has never before been used to treat cancer in the brain and spine. In addition, they devised a special system to sample spinal fluid to be sure that the optimal dose of chemotherapy is reached.
"The advantage of the drug delivery system is that it allows for the constant infusion of chemotherapy into the site of tumor and that means prolonged exposure of the cancer cells to chemotherapy,� said Dr. Rogers.
“Overall, this approach is considered more effective because it allows for lower dosages of chemotherapy, and thus is less toxic to the patient."
The chemotherapy treatment is given continuously for 12 days, and nine days later the treatment is repeated. This schedule is in contrast to the typical treatment approach of intermittent (2-3 times a week) high doses of chemotherapy injections into the spinal fluid, which are toxic to the patient.
"In Mary Anne's case, the treatment is working well and has achieved the precise drug levels in the spinal fluid level we are seeking,� said Dr. Rogers. “Brain tumor specialists in the country are awaiting additional results of this innovative approach to chemotherapy delivery.
“We think it is the wave of the future," said Dr. Rogers.
And recent diagnostic tests revealed that the therapy is keeping the cancer at bay. "The last MRI and spinal fluid tests I had showed no growth," Moco said.
Posted 04/04/03
love and hugs to you both,
pattyz
Hermelin Brain Tumor Center Offers First-of-its-Kind Treatment
When one meets and talks with Mary Anne Moco, it's difficult to believe she is battling cancer.
The 41-year-old Livonia resident, wife and mother of four children ages 2-14 is bright, cheerful, smiling, optimistic. For her, the glass appears half full.
Several years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Because of the advanced nature, she underwent a mastectomy, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. The diagnosis at that point looked good.
"I was doing great," recalled Moco.
But last fall, an MRI revealed that not all the cancer had been eradicated – in fact, it had spread. It was in the lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It was a difficult cancer to treat, with a difficult name to pronounce: leptomeningeal metastasis.
For some cancer patients, the story ends there. Typically, they are told to return home to say goodbye to friends and family; that medicine, and its best arsenal of tools and technologies, have nothing to offer, not even hope.
But not so for Mary Anne Moco.
Her physician suggested an experimental treatment, the first of its kind in the country, being offered at Henry Ford Hospital, and pioneered by Lisa Rogers, D.O., co-director of the Medical Neuro-oncology Program at Henry Ford’s Hermelin Brain Tumor Center. Dr. Rogers specializes in neurologic complications of cancer and primary and metastatic brain tumors.
So last November, Moco began her new therapy. At the heart of the therapy is a computer programmed drug delivery system developed by Medtronic, Inc. The implanted drug delivery system allows physicians to provide precisely programmed dosages of chemotherapy at the appropriate time intervals.
This approach, developed by Dr. Rogers and Henry Ford neurosurgeon Fredrick Junn, M.D., has never before been used to treat cancer in the brain and spine. In addition, they devised a special system to sample spinal fluid to be sure that the optimal dose of chemotherapy is reached.
"The advantage of the drug delivery system is that it allows for the constant infusion of chemotherapy into the site of tumor and that means prolonged exposure of the cancer cells to chemotherapy,� said Dr. Rogers.
“Overall, this approach is considered more effective because it allows for lower dosages of chemotherapy, and thus is less toxic to the patient."
The chemotherapy treatment is given continuously for 12 days, and nine days later the treatment is repeated. This schedule is in contrast to the typical treatment approach of intermittent (2-3 times a week) high doses of chemotherapy injections into the spinal fluid, which are toxic to the patient.
"In Mary Anne's case, the treatment is working well and has achieved the precise drug levels in the spinal fluid level we are seeking,� said Dr. Rogers. “Brain tumor specialists in the country are awaiting additional results of this innovative approach to chemotherapy delivery.
“We think it is the wave of the future," said Dr. Rogers.
And recent diagnostic tests revealed that the therapy is keeping the cancer at bay. "The last MRI and spinal fluid tests I had showed no growth," Moco said.
Posted 04/04/03