Update from Melinda's UCLA Care Pages/Tykerb

[Vicki]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=606 border=0><TBODY><TR class=cellcolor><TD colSpan=2>March 31, 2007 at 12:43 AM PDT</TD></TR><TR class=cellcolor><TD colSpan=2>Forging Ahead............
Is what I'm doing!
For the month of March, we have been trying to get everything under control, from blood pressure to chest pain. We even avoided a near angiogram (possibly plasty/stent procedure). Thank goodness Dr. Y and his team of doctors prevented this event; 11 hours before it was scheduled to take place. Instead, we did a CT Angio w/dye and found no evidence of a problem. Amazing! For a brief moment, I had forgotten about the cancer, I was so worried about my heart.
I just started the new FDA approved Tykerb (Lapatinib) medication this week. This was a challenge getting the drug from 1 of the first 5 pharmacies in the U.S. and getting our insurance to approve it into their formulary. It was approved Friday and Ken had it delivered to my oncologist's office Monday morning. I am the first of his patients to take Tykerb and share the experience of the side-effects.
Tykerb is the first targeted, once-daily (5 horse pills) oral treatment option for advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer whose disease has progressed following treatment with Herceptin and other cancer therapies.
I have all of my quarterly scans this Monday, April 2 (PET, CT-neck, chest, abdomen and pelvic). For some reason, it's before another holiday. I'm not sure how that works, but thats been the cycle.
I hope and pray for clean scan results, at least for awhile. It's been a long........4-5 months, and I'm ready for a break!
In closing, I'll share with you that sometimes life doesn't always seem fair, BUT it's still good!
Thank you for your continued love, support and prayers.
Love,
Melinda


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>