Tana Taylor

On May 2nd, Tana was diagnosed with a form of cancer called Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (a cancer of the bile ducts in her liver).  She has one tumor measuring 8-10 cm and 5 satellite tumors, all located on the right side of her liver.  While currently inoperable, we are hoping to shrink the tumors to make it possible to surgically remove the right side of her liver along with all of the cancer.  She began chemotherapy at UVA Cancer Center on May 30th and her upcoming treatment on June 27th will mark her 4th infusion and the halfway mark in her chemotherapy regime.  We plan to update the MRI in the coming weeks to see if the tumor is responding to the therapy.  In addition to the "standard of care", we are pursuing multiple alternatives that show promise.  We have identified the tumor's molecular mutations (IDH1, KRAS and PIK3CA) and two of them are "targetable" with medications that are currently in clinical trials.  We are also investigating several immunotherapies at UVA and just returned from a consultation with Mass General Hospital in Boston. 
We have a very positive outlook and I am so proud of Tana for her amazing strength and determination.  We are thankful for the many cards, prayers and words of encouragement from so many friends and family.  We are blessed by so many people working on our behalf, but would be remiss not to mention a few.  A special thank you to our UVA Cancer Center doctors (Reid Adams, Tri Le, Leigh Cantrell, Larry Lum and Tom Laughron), our Mass General doctors (John Iafrate, Motaz Qadan and Lipika Goyal) and our special friends Paul Manning and Sean Stalfort.  Together, I am confident that we are doing everything possible to win this battle.