[chrisy]

Marie,
"For us we are concerned with the fact that he was already on Xeloda with Tykerb and he failed."

Ummm...I need to remind you, Ed didn't fail, the Tykerb/Xeloda failed.

I agree with Steph's comments on the clinical trials. You don't necessarily want to rule those out as an option, but you do have to balance that with wanting to be in a relatively controlled condition going in. And of course you have to thread the needle on qualifying - have just the right amount/type (but not too much) of prior treatment and be healthy enough otherwise...

The disadvantage of the unproven therapies is that they are, well, unproven. But then again, the "proven" ones don't work for everyone either. The advantage of the new/trial therapies are that they are more and more the new science - more targeted and more easily tolerated than the traditional chemos. This is so important as you know - the patient has to have the resources to fight the cancer physically, mentally, and spiritually.

There are so many options out there which is a blessing and a curse...is Ed's oncologist on the cutting edge or at least have a connection with the latest research areas?

I know you are not ready to give up - and I'm glad that you are taking some time to plan your next attack while Ed rebuilds his strength.

Hang in there!

Much love
Chris