Thoughts wanted please ...

I just wondered if anyone had any thoughts on where my partner is at now please? She has been undergoing treatment here in the UK for an adenosquamous carcinoma in the body and tail of her pancreas. This involved two separate nine-session treatments of gemcitabine and cisplatin. This has led to a 50% reduction in the size of the tumor (originally some four inches in size) plus a 90% reduction in tumor markers. The next part of the plan would seem to be radiotherapy - which the medics here seemed very pleased she could even be considered for(?). However, there now seem to be so many other less-invasive treatments on the horizon now that I am wondering whether we should be looking to get one of those lined up for her. The latest I've spotted is a drug, currently called EP-100, 'designed to treat common breast, prostate, endometrial, pancreatic, ovarian, skin and testicular cancers'. It is apparently being tested by TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Healthcare's Piper Cancer Center. Here in the UK there are others, such as the photodynamic therapies, which seem to offer such hope - although not widely available yet. As before, everyone's thoughts from the other side of the Atlantic much appreciated here. Keep going everyone - there's ALWAYS hope.

Have they considered stereotactic radiation, tomotherapy?   This is radiation but it is beamed to the specific tumor and is less destructive on the parts of the body surrounding the tumor.  And it does not destroy all the other cells in your body.  It also takes less treatments. 

I underwent it 5 treatments, 1 every other day for a week and a half (no weekends) and it reduced my tumor to next to nothing and dropped the SUV to a level 2.  I couldn't believe it. Might be worth looking into.

Good luck and God Bless

   Thanks for that Chessie - it's not something I have any knowledge off thus-far (Google search coming up!).

   We've seen the Radiotherapy department today and the consultant is planning five and a half weeks of targeted radiotherapy plus low-dose chemo.  However, as you probably know, there are a lot of tests including the
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan to be completed before she starts and I'll certainly mention that in the interim.