Hi, All - I'm back from seeing my oncologist in St. Louis for the trial of Sunitinib.  It went pretty well.  He's pleased with my reaction - side effects aren't too bad, white blood cells responded well, still a bit anemic but not too bad, blood pressure is OK.  I've been approved to go on with the next course of treatment, so I'll be taking Sunitinib for the next 4 weeks, then off for 2 weeks.  I'll go down for another check-up in July.  I'm having a little more trouble with nausea and fatigue this time, but nothing I can't handle.

I'll have a CAT scan after this 4 weeks course so we can see how the tumors are reacting to the drug.  If they're getting smaller or staying the same, I'll get to continue in the clinical trial.  I'd prefer that they get smaller, but not getting any larger or spreading is definitely a good thing!

In addition to being tested on patients like me who have metastasized thyroid cancer, Sunitinib is being tested on liver cancer and had some good results on that, so that's a hopeful sign.

All four of us went down this time.  We got to see the Cards win and did some touristy-type things like go up in the Arch and visit the St. Louis Zoo.   We got to spend some time with Sara's Aunt Rosemary as well.  She took the boys to the Magic House and they had a great time there.  (Rosemary is a brave woman to take on 2 redheads by herself!)  We went through Hannibal on the way home and saw some Mark Twain sites.  Visiting the cave he described in Tom Sawyer was fun.  Matthew had lots of theories about bats, spiders, and "cave geckos" that he shared in great detail with the guide.  (We should have tipped the guy - wish I'd thought of that earlier.)

Thanks for your continued prayers and good thoughts!

John