Since I last wrote, Anthony has recovered almost completely from the surgery. He has normal movement in his left arm and says he doesn't feel any pain in his chest. The result of his quick recovery was that he was able to get another cycle of chemo last Tuesday, August 12th; lucky him. This cycle is the one that gives him bad mouth and throat sores, but Dr. Pan decided to try infusing the same dosage of doxorubicin over 24 hours instead of 48 hours to help with the mucositis. So far, I think Anthony is in better shape than he was at this same point after cycle 3. We'll see. Our only concern now is that the shortened infusion period will cause more damage to his heart.
Researchers have found that in adults, the increaed infusion period seems to reduce the damage to the heart. There is at least one study that has shown that in children, however, the rate at which the doxorubicin is administered does not matter. There seem to be differing opinions, though, even within the group at Robert Wood Johnson. Dr. Michaels told me that she would rather try using Amifostine to prevent the mouth sores than reduce the infusion period. Dr. Pan seems to think otherwise. This difference of opinion and the possible permanant cardiac effects worry us. |
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