Plan of action

February 11, 2012

There's no guarantee life is easy...

But because I have such amazing friends 
and family with me every step of the way

I know I'm going to make it through this next year of treatment...

We got a call from the doctor last night after the specialists met about Madeleine's situation. They feel it would be best for her to have 4 weeks of radiation treatment in the area where the surgery was done. This is because there was a "positive margin" on the cancerous lymph node that they took out, and so radiation would be the best weapon to fight against melanoma in that local area. They are also recommending a year of treatment with Interferon. (Interferon helps trigger your own immune system so that it fights cancer, and also helps "interfere" with cancer cells as they try to divide.) The specialists feel that this 2-pronged approach would be the best way to proceed in her situation.

As many of you know, these types of treatments have side effects that are bound to be challenging. We are grateful, however, that the specialists were unified in their recommendation, and that the doctors are continuing to confer with UCSF as they move toward finalizing the treatment plan.

For now, Madeleine still needs to heal up some more before this next phase of treatment begins. Although, thankfully, she avoided the major side effects of the surgery, she still has some muscles and nerves that need to recover so that she has full range of motion and comfort. As always, thanks for your prayers and encouragement.

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