Chemo Drug Cocktail

After discussing with Shaun's oncologist, we now have a new cocktail of chemo drugs to try out. I think there are some real advantages to switching up the drugs. For one, he won't be on the drug that causes the neuropathy. He will also be on a relatively new drug called cetuximab. Its a target specific drug against cells expressing EGFR (for all my sciency friends who read this). By blocking the growth signals to the tumors, we hope they will shrink. The major side effect (they all seem to cause varying degrees of awfulness) is an acne type rash. Studies show some correlation between the severity of the rash with the effectiveness of the drug. So hopefully the next time you see Shaun he will be hideously ugly with a nasty rash on his face. Ok, Shaun could never be ugly, but we can hope for effective treatment. They will evaluate in a couple of months and then maybe in January or so we will see if another surgery is an option or if we even want to go that route. Chemo starts Monday and will be every other week. Lets hope for effective drugs, minimal discomfort, and strength through this hard time.