I am glad to report that Susan says she's feeling much better this morning compared to the last two days. She did awake around 5:30 AM with abdominal pain, but was able to control it with ibuprofen rather than vicodin, which is a good sign. Her nausea also seems to have subsided.
Yesterday we had our follow-up visit with Dr. Munoz to check Susan's progress after surgery. Since he plans to continue to treat her on the Dallas end even as we have our weekly visits to Houston and Dr. Kavanagh, he was very interested in the precise nature of the drug (TLK286) which she is taking. For the biochemists among you, be it known that it is a: Glutathione S-Transferase P1-1 (GSTP1-1) Activated Prodrug (to quote a Telik paper). So there! I faxed Dr. Munoz a collection of papers and graphics on TLK286 that I found on various web sites. I hope he understands the chemistry better than I do. (That's why I switched majors from chemistry to physics in my sophomore year at Georgia Tech.) Dr. Munoz seemed pleased with Susan's progress, although he encouraged her to do whatever was necessary to keep her digestive system functioning, because, as he reminded us, there is still "a lot of tumor around the intestines." In my mind, I see the "glutathione s-transfease P1-1 activated prodrug" molecules invading those very tumor cells, shedding their trojan horse sheaths, and then unleashing a major attack on the nuclei of those rebellious cells. Something like Frodo and company attacking those big fat Orcs, and vanquishing them with their magic swords plunged deep into the Orc hearts. "March on, oh ye triumphant TLK286 molecules--victory is ours!!"
Thanks for your prayers.....
Posted by John Dishman at February 21, 2003 09:57 AM