Sunday, October 26, 2008

Sunday October 26

Sorry its been so long it seems like its just been one thing after another first I had my surgery then I had my test and drinking that stuff for my catscan made me sick,then I got a real bad cold where I lost my voice for about a week,but I think I'm better now,for awhile anyway.
I got all my test results back and they found some spots in my chest,neck,lymphnodes under my arm,and brain.The ones in my brain the doctor's not sure what they are because they are so small and they keep comming up and then going away.The scans show that the ones I already had have grown and all the ones under my skin that I can feel but the scans don't show have grown to.
I was going to get to try to do treaments every other week,but since my scans came back like they did I am going to keep going once a week.The second batch of the drug that I got the doctor thought that if he froze the drug it would keep better,since all of my scans came back the way they did and all the ones under my skin have grown also I started last Thursday with a new batch and he is not going to freeze it this time,because in the begining when he did not freeze it ,it seemed to be working better.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

A Note from the Doctor as of: 09/21/08

Kevin has been seeing us in clinic every week, and I have been monitoring his progress.  In general he has been tolerating the vaccine well.  When he started his injections, he did complain of joint pain. Those symptoms have improved since the initial injections.  To measure the effect of the vaccine we have been monitoring 5 melanoma sites on Kevin’s body which are easily felt under the skin.  Three of the five lesions have completely disappeared.  One is continuing to respond as it shrivels up.  The fifth lesion has not responded and remains at the same size.  We are planning to have this lesion removed to try to find out why it is not responding to the vaccine therapy. 

            Kevin has returned to work and is able to do most of the activities required of him as an electrician, however, I have asked him to refrain from working on high platforms because of his intermittent headaches.  His headaches precede the diagnosis of melanoma.  We have performed an MRI of his head and a lumbar puncture to analyze the spinal fluid.   Findings suggest he has no melanoma spreading to the brain.  It is comforting to know that though Kevin continues to have intermittent headaches, they likely are not from melanoma spreading to the brain. 

            We have also been analyzing antibody titers from his injections.  The purpose of this is to determine how well his immune response is to the stimulation from vaccine injections.  Kevin has had an excellent response and his antibody titers are high.  This means that Kevin’s vaccine injections are stimulating the immune system to respond by producing specific antibodies that are directed against antigens on the melanoma cells.  These antigens are what differentiate melanoma cells from healthy cells in the body. 

            Our vaccine is produced by combining melanoma specific antigens with a carrier molecule so that the body’s immune system will recognize it as foreign.  The carrier molecule is a protein that is found only in crustaceans like crabs.  This allows the body to recognize these proteins as foreign and in the process produce an antibody response that will cross-react with the melanoma antigens that have been coupled to this foreign protein.  Laboratory research showed this theory to be plausible, and the vaccine appears to be working for Kevin. 

Kevin has had CT Scans from head to foot looking to ensure that he does not have any internal organ involvement of his melanoma.  To date, his melanoma has remained only in areas under the skin that we can readily feel.  We are encouraged by his response to the vaccine therapy.  His response, so far, will be characterized as a partial response.  With the removal of the fifth lesion, we will continue to monitor the fourth lesion in the hope that it too will disappear. 

 

Dr. Raj Sadasivan M.D., Ph.D.

Hope Cancer Institute, Inc.

4215 Shawnee Drive

Kansas City, Kansas 66106

 

Phone: 913-236-6986

Fax:    913-236-9681