Roadblocks

Hello everyone, We received good news and not so good news at yesterday's medical appointments. The good news is Billy's labs all look good and his fatigue is a normal part of recovering from chemo. He gained a pound a day between Monday and Friday so his weight is steadily climbing. "Coach Bill" is at San Jose Fit this morning inspiring both new and veteran runners to get off the couch and move into a healthier lifestyle! The not so great news is that the chemotherapy he had while in the hospital was not successful at getting him into a remission status (defined as < 5% cancer cells). So he will have to endure more chemo of a different drug combination with the hope this time it will work. He has a choice of a more conventional type as an Inpatient at Stanford (30-45 days) or a brand new clinical research trial drug combination as an Out-Patient. This new trial was just approved for use at Stanford this week so his doctor is pretty excited about it. We would have to travel to Palo Alto every day during the 9 day cycles and Bill would have to be super cautious about preventing infections (wear a respirator outside the house) but being able to do this at home is very tempting. We are weighing the pros and cons of each over the weekend. Lots of medical appts next week in preparation for the re-induction. Either way, once Bill gets into remission the plan is for a bone marrow transplant to keep him cancer free. This will be a long journey and your love and support are much needed and appreciated. Lisa