Kaytruda

It seems that Kaytruda (the experimental drug we talked about in the last post) is working!  Kelly had a brain scan on Monday, and today she had an appointment with her doctor to find out the results. The tumor seems to be about the same size, or even a bit smaller.  We had been seeing some of the negative short term effects of Kaytruda, so it is great to know that they long term effects are exactly what we were hoping for.

Since she started Kaytruda, Kelly has been having a harder time moving around. When Kaytruda is working, it often causes "pseudoprogression", in other words, it makes it seem like the tumor is getting worse, even if it isn't.  In fact, it is just the Kaytruda doing its job of attacking the tumor.  This positive brain scan confirms that "pseudoprogression" is why Kelly has been having a harder time with mobility.

Last month, Kelly's mobility was bad enough that she and the doctors decided to skip a dosage of Kaytruda until this scan, just to make sure it was working before we continued.  Since it is working, she went right from her doctor's appointment this morning to the infusion lab, where they gave her the next dose of Kaytruda this afternoon.

Of course, if you've been at the hospital most of the day getting good news and getting treatments, it's important to get a little snack before you go home... and the hospital has delicious tiramisu!