kvetching up

 Entry 1     6:55 a.m. A few weeks ago Jenny had a biopsy done on a liver metastases to identity whether there were any genetic sequences that could be targeted through immunothera py.  Immunotherapy is, as described by cancerresearch.org, a form of cancer therapy that uses a person's own immune system to fight the cancer.  Such treatment may include "targeted antibodies, cancer vaccines, adoptive cell transfer, tumor-infecting viruses, checkpoint inhibitors, cytokines and adjuvants." Adoptive cell transfer is the use of your own T-cells to fight the cancer.  Omi underwent this as a second-line response to her lymphoma.  It didn't work for her, obviously, but it can work and is a powerful tool fighting against cancer.  If Jenny's biopsy results demonstrated she was eligible for this treatment, the procedure entailed extracting T-cells from her bone marrow, growing it in a petri dish for a few weeks to create more, and then injecting them int...

“ There is not so helpless and pitiable an object in the world as a landsman beginning a sailor's life . ” --Richard Henry Dana Jr. from Two Years Before the Mast The new chemotherapy regimen has shown a modicum of success.  Here is the latest chart, showing the CA 19-9 cancer antigen measurement, including the most recent from last week, while I was away: This is good news, one hopes, in terms of extending Jenny's life. A drop of 5000 in two weeks has to be good.  At the same time, she is dropping weight.  She is now maintaining around 157-160 lbs. , but that is low.  And her caloric intake, just to maintain this weight is massive.  In other good news, Jenny has finally found a cannabis delivery system that is working--smoking joints. And, it has massively improved her ability to eat--with this chemo generally and significantly killing her appetite. The doctor measured Jenny's CEA (another cancer antigen marker) again last week. Last time, on Aug 12, I was led...