You heard it here first!
We saw Dr Savage this morning and told him about our trip north.
He said “If it were me, I would have interleukin 2”, even before we had a chance to ask him the question.
That’s good enough for us. Manchester here we come. Quent had another CT scan following the appointment – brain, chest, abdomen and pelvis. We will get the results and discuss next steps on Thursday. Please keep all the prayers and positive vibes coming for excellent scan and histology results. I am convinced they are a key contributor to all this hopeful news.
Read on for a few “FAQs” or revisit on Thursday, when we should know a little more.
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Why didn’t they know about this treatment before?
As Prof Hawkins hasn’t published his findings yet, Dr Savage only found out about his IL-2 work in a London kidney cancer meeting - when he was telling the others how slow the US team were to get back to us. (Thank goodness they were!) Until Dr Hawkins publishes his results (I hope I’m not stealing his thunder), people are not generally aware of his work.
Isn’t it really dangerous?
Dr Savage said that the general impression of IL-2 (a dangerous treatment, with little chance of success) has been based on US data from the 1980s onwards (when they used to give it to everyone). However, times have moved on and much more is known about when and how to use it. It seems from Dr Hawkins’ experience that, for the few people who fit the bill, it’s becoming a fairly routine treatment with interesting results – and only 25% of patients going into Intensive Care!
What about the idea of surgically removing the big spots?
Dr Savage agreed that we may consider surgery to remove the largest spot(s), but somehow it seems unlikely as, on the last scan, Quent still had quite a few.
When will we know what Quent’s chances are?
Dr Savage will try to hasten sending the tumour sample up to Manchester for analysis. It sometimes takes a while, so we are not sure when we will know more on that one. But he did say that Prof Hawkins is keen to treat him.
He said “If it were me, I would have interleukin 2”, even before we had a chance to ask him the question.
That’s good enough for us. Manchester here we come. Quent had another CT scan following the appointment – brain, chest, abdomen and pelvis. We will get the results and discuss next steps on Thursday. Please keep all the prayers and positive vibes coming for excellent scan and histology results. I am convinced they are a key contributor to all this hopeful news.
Read on for a few “FAQs” or revisit on Thursday, when we should know a little more.
*********************************************************
Why didn’t they know about this treatment before?
As Prof Hawkins hasn’t published his findings yet, Dr Savage only found out about his IL-2 work in a London kidney cancer meeting - when he was telling the others how slow the US team were to get back to us. (Thank goodness they were!) Until Dr Hawkins publishes his results (I hope I’m not stealing his thunder), people are not generally aware of his work.
Isn’t it really dangerous?
Dr Savage said that the general impression of IL-2 (a dangerous treatment, with little chance of success) has been based on US data from the 1980s onwards (when they used to give it to everyone). However, times have moved on and much more is known about when and how to use it. It seems from Dr Hawkins’ experience that, for the few people who fit the bill, it’s becoming a fairly routine treatment with interesting results – and only 25% of patients going into Intensive Care!
What about the idea of surgically removing the big spots?
Dr Savage agreed that we may consider surgery to remove the largest spot(s), but somehow it seems unlikely as, on the last scan, Quent still had quite a few.
When will we know what Quent’s chances are?
Dr Savage will try to hasten sending the tumour sample up to Manchester for analysis. It sometimes takes a while, so we are not sure when we will know more on that one. But he did say that Prof Hawkins is keen to treat him.
posted by Helen at 7/10/2007 03:10:00 pm
2 Comments:
excellent news - great that you have Dr Savage's endorsement. You know that a very warm welcome awaits you in the North! Helen xxx
Keeping up with positive vibes from London :)
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