On July 28, Mimi had her first treatment with the experimental, more targeted drug, called Cetuximab or Erbitux. See our earlier description of the treatment. This is the monoclonal anti-body that was developed by ImClone--the company with which Martha Stewart got in trouble. We're trying to decide how to refer to this drug in plain English. One suggestion (from my brother David) is "the Martha Stewart drug," or perhaps "Martha" for short. Send in your suggestions for a name. The author of the winning entry will earn an appropriate prize (void where prohibited).
Mimi will be getting this treatment weekly for one year or until the tumors start to grow, whichever comes first. She'll be receiving it at UC Davis for the next three weeks and then will be able to get it at a hospital in San Mateo just 30 minutes away that is particpating in the clinical trial. We will continue to see our doctor at UC Davis every three weeks.
A common side effect of this new drug is a rash, but apparently the rash is also a sign that the drug is working. At any rate, Mimi's glad to be done with chemotherapy, at least for now, and is looking forward to getting her hair back.
In the meantime, life goes on:
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