Life & clinical trial plans

Madeleine’s Blog

February 13, 2013

So do not fear, for I am with you

Do not be dismayed, for I am your God

I will strengthen you and help you

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand

Isaiah 41:10

Kenzie, Tanner, Austin, and Madeleine in San Diego

It has been a month since the last post so I want to update you on what has been going on. First of all, you should know that Madeleine has been doing well & feeling well. Thanks for all of your prayers. She has been back working at the gym, enjoying being with friends and family, and appreciating just being able to live life. She was able to go down to San Diego at the end of January, and really had a fun time with her friends there and with Austin.

In her spare time, Madeleine has been putting her passion for athletics and coaching to good use. She recently began helping coach the 7th & 8th grade volleyball teams at Piner Olivet Charter School (where she went to middle school). And, she is also helping assist the coach of Montgomery High School's swim team (she was a part of the team last year).

On the health front, she made it through another round of radiation at the end of January that was targeted at the new lymph node that was growing near the previous area. In consultation with her oncologist and UCSF, she finished the Yervoy infusions after two rounds and began working to get into the clinical trial at UCSF. We went down to UCSF at the end of January to get the process started, and have been going through screening tests and waiting for the paperwork to come through.

UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center

We finally got word that the paperwork was ready, and so yesterday we went down to UCSF and signed the consent forms that will allow her to start the official screening to see if she can be a part of the "anti-PD-1" clinical trial that is for those who have already had Yervoy. She has more tests to make it through (blood tests, CT-scan, and biopsy), and then the drug company will let us know if she is accepted into the trial.

If all goes well, Madeleine will begin the clinical trial during the first week of March. She would go down to UCSF every three weeks to have blood tests, an exam, and an infusion at the UCSF treatment center (pictured above). They will be able to work around some of the vacation time that Madeleine already has planned :) so that makes us all really happy.

We are really excited about the possibility of her being able to start this new medication, which has shown a lot of promise (and side effects that are minimal - especially compared to Biochemo or some of the other treatments out there).

Please be praying with us that the door would open for her, and that this treatment would really be effective. As always, thank you for your concern and support.