Nashville Update

Hi Friends!

I’m sorry it’s been such a long time since I last shared an update with you; I’ve got a lot to catch you up on!

When I last posted, April had come to the end of the first-tier chemotherapy drugs approved by the FDA for breast cancer or metastatic breast cancer, and we were preparing for the first clinical trial.

April went through two three-week cycles of the trial, and was pretty miserable through the whole thing. Perhaps more so than the others – it’s hard to say – this one was pretty hard on her.

When we met with Dr. Burris to review the results of the first two cycles of the trial on Monday of last week, we got the both good and bad news that her trial hadn’t been effective at treating her cancer. That was a blessing because April was really struggling. Of course, it also sucked, because we’d love to have had a positive result on the first repeat visit with Dr. Burris.

But onward and upward. April is moving into clinical trials for the newest cancer therapies – including (we hope) PARP-1 Inhibitors – cancer drugs that have been on the news lately, being touted as new miracle cancer drugs. Most of the new drugs that we’ve talked about have been “biologics” (including PARP), meaning their healing qualities come from manipulating biological pathways rather than chemical attacks on cells. It’s some very cool, exciting stuff.

Regarding how April is doing, she has been off of the trial for a little over a week now, and she’s still recovering. We had a brief stay in the hospital to re-hydrate her and raise her immune system, and when we left the hospital Thursday, she was feeling MUCH better.

So here we are on Tuesday night. Dr. Gharavi wants to see April tomorrow to follow up on her hospital stay and continued dehydration. We’re going to work hard to keep her hydrated, fed, happy…generally speaking, we want April to be her regular, awesome, beautiful (are you reading this, honey??), brilliant, brave…you get the picture…self.

We are calling all visitors! Maybe not everyone at once!  But if you’re ever thinking about visiting Knoxville, or ya live in K-town or the area and want to have dinner or play a game or just chat, give us a shout. We’d love to see you.

One last piece of difficult news: I’m coming to the end of my FMLA leave at my job, which could make it difficult for me to stay there and maintain my benefits. So if you know someone who offers benefits and who is looking for a top-flight internet marketer (not to toot my own horn, but I am one!), I would be interested in talking to them.

Love to each and every one of you — you’re a special group of friends and family.

Mac & April