I got a message from my Internist yesterday, (unfortunately I haven't
been able to reconnect with her for follow up questions). My question
had been about Dex shots and what to do now that Spencer seems to have a
new lease on life. She said that in order to prescribe chemo drugs
she'd need a confirmation on it truly being lymphoma. We could send in
fluid from his chest for testing, but since the Dex shots are working so
well, there might not be fluid to tap.
I had asked her about using Acemannan. She wasn't against it, but
hasn't seen enough proof that it's effective either. She also mentioned
that, yes, it's an anti-tumor treatment, but if Spencer does have
Lymphoma, the Acemannan OR even Interferon might not be a good choice,
because in stimulating the lymphocytes, (which are part of the immune
system), we might be stimulating the very lymphocytes we are trying to
suppress. If that were the case it could make the situation worse not
better. I immediately thought of Simon, (Michelle's Simon), and our
questioning the same thing with his auto immune response. I'm wondering
if that's why Spencer had such a bad reaction to his injections of
Interferon Omega.
So, I have another call in to see if they think it's wise at this point
to stop the Dex shots and see if the fluid builds back up, (so we have
something to test). I don't know if testing the fluid will even be
definitive in diagnosing Lymphoma. It seems to me, someone already told
me it might not be. Of course I'd like to not have to give him steroid
shots, but I'm so afraid of what his reaction will be if I stop. I know
it's unreasonable to feel this way, but I keep hoping that this is all
some terrible mistake, it's not Lymphoma, he's actually got a chance to
somehow get better and this will all go away like a bad dream. What's a
mother to do?? Any thoughts? God I hate this disease.
Nina
- Spencer's treatment (Interferon and Acemannan) Nina
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