Starving the Cancer

December 7, 2009

My husband has endured six rounds of chemotherapy consisting of Carbo, Taxol and Avastin from the beginning he was told he was a stage four and if he was able to gain “stability” from chemotherapy that, in itself is a milestone. Well, the tumor didn’t just stay “stable” (meaning that it did not shrink or grow during chemotherapy) but it turned into scar tissue! When he was first diagnosed the primary tumor was a whopping 6cm. Now it’s dead!
We believe so much of this success comes from the Avastin. This drug is a “tumor-starving therapy”. In order to survive, grow, or spread, tumors need a continuous supply of oxygen and nutrients, which they get by creating their own network of blood vessels. This process is called angiogenesis (an’-gee-o-jen’-i-sis). Avastin is thought to work by blocking a protein released by both normal cells and cancer cells that helps cause angiogenesis. This protein is called VEGF and is produced throughout the life of the tumor. By controlling the growth of blood vessels, Avastin can starve your cancer of the nutrients and oxygen it needs to grow and spread.
Brandon will be staying on Avastin as a “maintenance” therapy for an indefinite amount of time. He will receive it once every three weeks intravenously and the process will last about 30 minutes. This is so minuscule compared to the cards our family was initially dealt this past summer. Keep fighting the good fight, my husband is proof that this beast is beatable!