The doctor asked Pace to be a part of a clinical study for a chemotherapy drug called Abraxane for the National Adjunct Cancer of Bowel and Breast Program (NACBP). They would administer Abraxane for 12 weeks once week and then four doses of the chemotherapy cocktail FEC administered every three weeks.
Up until now Abraxane has been used for treating breast cancer in metastasis, FEC is in regular use for cancer treatment. The NACBP had experienced success in significantly reducing the size of the tumor, sometimes to nothing, both in a previous trial, and the one Pace has been asked to join.
Abraxane is a new form of the Taxol, a paclitaxel now used in fighting cancer which has fewer side effects compared to regular chemotherapy delivery of Taxol. It is the first drug available in a new form of cancer fighting agents called Protein Nanoparticle Chemotherapy, a type of cancer nanotechnology; I’ll explain what is and how it works in another post.
The complication is mostly logistical; Abraxane is administered weekly rather than every 21 days. As we were about to pack Pace up and get her back home for regular treatment, it looks like she won’t be coming home for at least 12 weeks maybe 24. However, if it results in a better treatment the sacrifice is worth it.
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