You guys are gonna love this, help is on the way!

Good!
I can't say that I totally understand all that, but it does sound like good news. Thanks for the info!

*hugs*
Gail

KathiM said:

Wow! This is grand!
Yes, please, keep us posted! This is sooooo exciting...

I wonder if the reason I have done so well on the colon is because I went thru the breast cancer treatment 6 months later...and maybe, vice/versa!

Hugs, Kathi

John
Great news on a breakthrough technology that sounds very promising. I wish you all the luck needed to get extended treatments and meds from this.

Don

What great information to have
John, I have often wondered why there weren't more options to have genetic analysis of ones particular tumor. It's nice to hear that detailed testing is in the pipeline. The information should be used for designing personalized treatments, such as the one outlined for you. I truly hope it is effective.

I'm a little skeptical about how they can attach probabilities to the effectiveness of particular therapies, since this kind of testing is not typically carried out. Obviously if there are mutations in things like K-ras or B-raf which render growth pathways constitutively active (short-circuited to be "on") then EGFR drugs will not be effective, but how they know the probability of response to systemic types of chemo is not clear to me. I know there have been some studies of genetic factors for drugs like 5-FU, but there must be pretty big error bars on the statistics. As this kind of analysis matures, things will be much more certain and therapies can be truly individualized.

I look forward to seeing your report. Thanks for sharing!

Jeremy

dixchi said:

Wow!
Am so happy for you that there is a new plan and one that
may benefit other cancer patients.....surely there are
grants, funding agencies, National Cancer Institute or
someone who can help with the bills...even Dr. Lenz???
Thanks so much for sharing this and hoping for an
excellent outcome.

Hugs,
Barbara

This came from another board ..thought I would share it
Joe (soccerfreaks) posted this is hopes that it might help me find financial aid in case I needed it to continue this treatment. I must have misguided him someway because of him thinking it was me. So, to reference this post to whom it should go to I changed the name where Buzzard use to be and placed John in it. I hope its ok...Here is his post...



Congratulations, John, on what appears to be some fantastic news. Incidentally, some of the elements you reference, including the relationship between the KRAS gene and colorectal cancer, genetic and epigenetic solutions, and targeted therapies are covered rather extensively in recent issues of ACS's CURE magazine (I believe it is at curetoday.com online as well). Just for further reference.

As for financial support, John, if you get to a point where that is a problem, consider the following among other that I am sure are out there:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Support/financial-resources

This site is put up by the National Institute of Health or some such, and is government-supported. TereB has responded in other discussion areas with some excellent suggestions, and they may apply for you as well. I am taking the liberty of copying and pasting them as well:

Cancer Care, a non-profit org., offers free support and counseling for cancer patients by oncology social workers. They have face-to-face counseling and counceling on the phone. Support groups on the phone are available too and are moderated by an oncology social worker. Call 800-813-HOPE. They can also give you info about financial resources. Check their website: www.cancercare.org

Gilda's Club - www.gildasclub.org - they offer free social and emotional support. Not sure if they may have financial information but check it out just in case.

Live Strong - www.livestrong.org - offers one-on-one support.

American Cancer Society (here) can also give you financial, support, etc. information available in different cities.

Mike49 said:

Web site
John, What was the web site for the new lab that analyzed your tumor cells. I am very interested in having this done since my cancer has not responded to any of the chemotherapy regimens I have had.

Thanks,
Mike Bell

Mike
Mike,
We're thinking about you.

Take care.
Aloha,
Kathleen