Today Sonia had her consultation with Dr. Shilder at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA. She was accompanied by hubby, Gene, and daughter, Irene (sister Tina was given a much needed break).
Upon his physical examination of Sonia and review of her PET scans and reports he, too, concurred with Dr. Blom that Sonia is in remission!!! The medical definition of "remission" is "the state of absence of disease activity in patients with a chronic illness, with the possibility of return of disease activity." While we are thrilled that Sonia is in remission, we know that it is a matter of time before the cancer returns (a relapse).
According to Dr. Shilder, the chances for relapse are based on 5 International Prognostic Indexes:
- Age (>60 - bad)
- Stage (3 - bad)
- Performance Status (good)
- Lab LDH (unknown)
- Extranodal sites (good)
Given that Sonia has 2-3 "bads" out of a possible 5, Dr. Shilder believes that she has a 50% of relapse sometime within the next 3 years. This is not the news we wanted to hear.
The other reason for Sonia's visit was to discuss the possibility of her participating in a new (6 months old) clinical trial. This trial would include a total of 400 patients. The purpose would be to test the safety and effectiveness of an existing drug called Zevalin, a radioimmunotherapy drug, in conjunction with the standard CHOP-R chemotherapy treatment for patients with Sonia's type of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma: Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). At present, Zevalin is only used for those patients who have already had the CHOP-R treatment and who have subsequently relapsed.
If Sonia chooses to participate in the study, a computer will randomly select which one of two groups she will be a part of. Group A will receive the Zevalin drug. Group B will not. Both will be monitored over a period of 4 years.
Sonia's options are to (1) participate in the study and hope she gets selected to be in Group A or (2) not participate and wait until such time that she relapses at which point she will likely be given Zevalin or possibly a bone marrow or stem cell transplant.
If she does participate and gets selected to be a part of Group A, on Day 1 she will receive a dose of Rituxan (the "R" drug in the CHOP-R regimen, which is a 4-hour infusion) followed by a low dose of Zevalin (a very short infusion). On Day 8 she will again receive a dose of Rituxan followed by a LARGE does of Zevalin. Every month for the next few months after that her blood count levels will be monitored. Unlike with CHOP-R where her blood counts immediately went down following treatment and took 3 weeks to build back up, the blood count levels with Zevalin drop at the end of the second month. Once the blood levels are back to normal levels, she would be monitored as any other normal cancer survivor.
Dr. Shilder also informed that the side effects to the Zevalin treatment are far less harsh than the CHOP-R treatment. This is very good news as Sonia virtually had ZERO harsh side effects on the CHOP-R treatment (thank you God and prayer warriors)!
Sonia is leaning toward participating in the trial as she doesn't believe she has anything to lose by doing it. She only has a day or two window of opportunity to make her decision. We'll keep everyone informed via this terrific website.
Friends, Family & Prayer Warriors: While the worst is now behind Sonia (at least for now), please do continue to remember her in your prayers. She has been tightly and warmly embraced by all the unceasing prayer and support from around the world throughout this journey and she is eternally grateful. There are those who are in far greater need now who are more deserving of your unceasing prayer & support. But please do remember Sonia now and again and check back with this website periodically for updates!
May God provide abundant blessings to each one of you reading this and all the glory goes to Him!!!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX!!!
Prayer Requests: Please pray that God direct Sonia on the right path to a healthy body; that He keep His protective hands over the clinical study and Sonia's role in it; and that Sonia remain CANCER-FREE for the next 100 years!!!!
