Hershey Medical Center Visit 5/5/09

Went for blood work and a CT Scan and was scheduled for an echo cardiogram but that was postponed. I do not have any results but these were just benchmarks for the start of chemotherapy next week. A good thing is that I have maintained my weight since the last visit.
The Clinical Trial that we were going for was closed on Friday, they met the limit of participants world wide. This is probably a good thing since the oncologist told us today that I will receive basically the same drugs that the Trial was going to use. Not being in the Trial will also cut down on trips to Hershey (35 minutes each way).

I am going on Monday the 11th for the mediport installation. When I start chemo on the 14th, I will come home wearing a pump that will inject drugs 24/7. I wear it for three (3) weeks and then it is refilled and wear it for three more weeks. They will then CT Scan me again to see the progress.

I will not try to explain the three (3) drugs that will consist of my chemo, I will let Wikipedia do that;

The chemotherapy agent 5-FU (fluorouracil), which has been in use against cancer for about 40 years, acts in several ways, but principally as a thymidylate synthase inhibitor. Interrupting the action of this enzyme blocks synthesis of the pyrimidine thymidine, which is a nucleotide required for DNA replication. Thymidylate synthase methylates deoxyuridine monophoshate (dUMP) into thymidine monophosphate (dTMP).

Like many anti-cancer drugs, 5-FU's effects are felt system wide but fall most heavily upon rapidly dividing cells that make heavy use of their nucleotide synthesis machinery, such as cancer cells (other parts of the body with rapidly dividing cells include the cells lining the digestive tract).

Some of its principal use is in colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer, in which it has been the established form of chemotherapy for decades (platinum-containing drugs have been approved for human use in the US since 1978 are also very well established).

5-FU is also used in ophthalmic surgery, specifically to augment trabeculectomy (an operation performed to lower the intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma) in patients deemed to be at high risk for failure. 5-FU acts as an anti-scarring agent in this regard, since excessive scarring at the trabeculectomy site is the main cause for failure of the surgery.

Fluorouracil can be used topically (as a cream) for treating actinic (solar) keratoses and some types of basal cell carcinomas of the skin. It is often referred to by its trade names Efudex, Carac or Fluoroplex.

It is a key component in Tegafur-uracil.

Epirubicin is an anthracycline drug used for chemotherapy. It is marketed by Pfizer under the trade name Ellence in the US and Pharmorubicin or Epirubicin "Ebewe" elsewhere.

Similarly to other anthracyclines, epirubicin acts by intercalating DNA strands. Intercalation results in complex formation which inhibits DNA and RNA synthesis. It also triggers DNA cleavage by topoisomerase II, resulting in mechanisms that lead to cell death. Binding to cell membranes and plasma proteins may be involved in the compound's cytotoxic effects. Epirubicin also generates free radicals that cause cell and DNA damage.

Epirubicin is favoured over doxorubicin, the most popular anthracycline, in some chemotherapy regimens as it appears to cause fewer side-effects. Epirubicin has a different spatial orientation of the hydroxyl group at the 4' carbon of the sugar, which may account for its faster elimination and reduced toxicity. Epirubicin is primarily used against breast and ovarian cancer, gastric cancer, lung cancer, and lymphomas.

Cisplatin, cisplatinum or cis-diamminedichloridoplatinum(II) (CDDP) is a platinum-based chemotherapy drug used to treat various types of cancers, including sarcomas, some carcinomas (e.g. small cell lung cancer, and ovarian cancer), lymphomas and germ cell tumors. It was the first member of its class, which now also includes carboplatin and oxaliplatin. Platinum complexes are formed in cells, which bind and cause crosslinking of DNA; ultimately triggering apoptosis(programmed cell death).

Thanks for all of the THOUGHTS, PRAYERS and LIT CANDLES. Rumor is that Notre Dame had to hire a new fireman for the Grotto based on the number of candles lit there for me...

God Bless All