TK1258

That is the name of the new drug that Jeff will be taking in a trial study. We have had a very good day! We met Dr. Sarantopolous today and liked him a lot. He is super smart and very passionate about his research. His staff was also very nice. The only thing...... I shouldn't even mention this....... The waiting room had dirty chairs. Just old and worn and stained. And you all know how in feel about a dirty chair. My traumatic experience of smelling like ass will haunt me forever. So I just stood and waited. No big deal.

Jeff actually qualifies for 2 Phase I trials. If he doesn't have a good response to the first one they will start him on the second. I cannot explain the relief we feel! We are so blessed to be able to try something new and still have some hope. The medicine is a pill without many side effects. He will have to be here a couple of days and then can take the pills at home. No hospital time and no long stays in San Antonio. Very good news! He should start next week. He will try it for 2 months and then rescan. And it looks like our insurance will cover everything the trial doesn't! Whew! The doctor was very cautious in telling us that this is not a cure. The hope of this medicine is to stop the growth of blood vessels to Jeffs tumors. Good news would be if the tumors didn't grow or spread. Excellent news would be if they shrunk. There is a possibility this medicine could hold Jeffs cancer at bay for a length of time. Because this is a phase I trial there are not any statistics available but they do know melanoma is a very vascular cancer. So in theory there is a possibility this could help. That is our prayer!!!! Please let Jeff have more time to feel better, work a little and watch his kids grow some more. Please God!

So we are smiling this afternoon. It is raining outside which is always a good sign that everything is right in our world. After the storm passes we are going to walk on the Riverwalk and drink a cold beer and probably eat a steak or some Mexican food. Home tomorrow and on with our lives. We are holding our blessings close tonight and cherishing every one.

Blessed,
Jeff and Leta