Dr. Murphy's Briefcase

So much has happened since my last post.  Dr. Murphy got out her briefcase and dealt with the insurance.  (See the "Briefcase" reference in my previous post if this doesn't make sense to you.) The Erbitux was approved in the eleventh hour.  In the words of her assistant, "Heads rolled".  Denny was in the infusion room by 8:45a.m. yesterday morning because of Dr. Murphy.

Adrienne was Denny's nurse yesterday.  She was very experienced with the infusion of Erbitux.  Because of the life threatening side effects, we were very appreciative to have her on board.  Denny received large doses of Benadryl and Dexamethasone prior to receiving the Erbitux in an effort to stop any side effects.  The plan was to administer a small dose (100 mg) of Erbitux to see if he tolerated it. If so, then he was going to get 750 mg as a starter dose; following each Monday with
450 mg maintenance dose. 

We held our breath as the Erbitux started.  Adrienne said most of the time the reaction occurs during the first few minutes of the infusion.  We soon breathed a sigh of relief as the time came and passed with no respiratory distress or cardiac arrest.  "It's all good!", we thought.

Sadly, we let our guard down too soon.  As the last of the Erbitux trickled into the IV, Denny's body broke out in a horrible, itching rash.  It was under his arms, between his fingers and toes, on his palms and bottom of his feet.  There was are dark red spot the size of a quarter right between his eyebrows; above the bridge of his nose.  Dr. Murphy called an immediate halt to the administration of the drug.  She felt the risks were too great.  She has pulled the plug on the Erbitux completely.

As you can imagine, that was a heavy blow to Denny and me.  The Erbitux was an excellent prospect for gaining control of this tumor growth.  As I mentioned previously, Denny's pain level has been increasing and he was anxious to get this drug moving.  The rash disappeared about an hour after the drug was stopped.  Adrienne called Dr. Murphy to see if she wanted to give more Benadryl and "Re-challenge".  Dr. Murphy said, "No".

By this time it was 1:30pm.  I had to be at work by 2:40 p.m.  Denny wanted to go to work also.  So, I drove him to his office and returned to Vanderbilt.  I worked until 11:30 p.m. and didn't get home until after midnight.  Denny went to work; rode home with a friend and then proceeded to mow the field last night.  While we experienced a major setback yesterday, Cancer does NOT control our lives.  We fight to maintain a normal life in spite of it.

Where do we go from here?  On Monday, July 15th, we will find out.  A doctor of Dr. Murphy's caliber cannot be at the level she is without a contingency plan.  I really feel that if there is a solution out there, she will find it.  While we wait, he has at least 100 mg of Erbitux working on the tumor. In the meantime, let's not forget the tissue sample in Boston.  It is undergoing evaluation as we speak.  Let's pray the scientists there can find an abnormality that has a drug available.  Let's also pray to give Denny strength, peace, and another miracle.

The battle is still on.  Thanks for checking in.