TACE (Transarterial Chemo Embolization)

Here's the update I promised today on Facebook. First of all, the CEA from yesterday is 14.6, down from 16.7 two weeks ago. So, that does show that the 4 rounds of chemotherapy has been doing its job. But the side effects have been building up and I'd like to give my body (and my psyche) and break from the systemic treatment. I've been on some form of chemotherapy since July 2011. Most of that time I was taking Xeloda and Avastin which have caused some side effects that aren't pleasant. The Avastin has caused ulcerations inside my nose which are painful and cause nosebleeds. The xeloda has taken its toll on my gums. The chemotherapy I've been on for the past two months have increased these effects plus have cause discomfort with my hands and feet as described in a recent post.

We are not by any means giving up on this battle though, we are just changing the strategy. While I am taking a break I will undergo a procedure called TACE which stands for "Transarterial Chemo Embolization" Here is a link that describes this procedure: TACE. Basically an Interventional  Radiologist will insert a catheter through a femoral artery and place Irinotecan-saturated beads into my liver, which will supply a dose of the chemotherapy directly to the tumor for two weeks. This should kill it. Also the liver will be saturated with the beads as well so if there are any micro-tumors (too small to detect) that are gearing up for battle, the TACE will also take care of them.

After this (probably in a couple of months) we will likely continue the systemic treatments to make sure and kill (hopefully) any additional tumor cells that are elsewhere in my body.

I don't have the details on when this procedure will take place, I would guess within the next couple of weeks. I will have an MRI before then to double check and see if there are any additional sites in the liver that have activity. Any tumor sites that are found will get a direct hit of these beads.

Here is the CT scan report: