Excited after completing all 15 radiation treatments!
JANUARY 22, 2020
First on behalf of Robin and her entire family we cannot possibly find the words to express how extremely grateful and overwhelmed we are at how generous all of you have been! You cannot begin to imagine the impact your gifts have had. The money will definitely help with the medical costs but also help Robin concentrate on getting better! But the real gift you have all given is the one of support! Again we are all overwhelmed by the amount of support Robin has in her corner! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Now for the update... Today Robin completed her 15th and final radiation treatment!!! All of the early indicators are that she handled the treatments like a champ. It will take a little time to tell how effective the treatments were against the melanoma but we do know that with the exception of some lost hair, Robin handled the treatments very well!
The next step is to get the immunotherapy treatments started. That will hopefully happen next week! Robin and the rest of us would like to express our extreme gratitude for your gifts and support! Thank you and God Bless!
First on behalf of Robin and her entire family we cannot possibly find the words to express how extremely grateful and overwhelmed we are at how generous all of you have been! You cannot begin to imagine the impact your gifts have had. The money will definitely help with the medical costs but also help Robin concentrate on getting better! But the real gift you have all given is the one of support! Again we are all overwhelmed by the amount of support Robin has in her corner! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Now for the update... Today Robin completed her 15th and final radiation treatment!!! All of the early indicators are that she handled the treatments like a champ. It will take a little time to tell how effective the treatments were against the melanoma but we do know that with the exception of some lost hair, Robin handled the treatments very well!
The next step is to get the immunotherapy treatments started. That will hopefully happen next week! Robin and the rest of us would like to express our extreme gratitude for your gifts and support! Thank you and God Bless!
Robin with a family friend, Will, who is also fighting melanoma. He just happend to be a the Oncology center the same time we were. Very happy coincidence.
FEBRUARY 6, 2020
Robin had a small setback about 2 weeks ago. She was having trouble putting sentences together. She was saying that she knew what she wanted to say but couldn't remember even the simplest of words. With that we took her to the hospital where they determined that she Robin's brain swelled up a little, most likely from the radiation treatment. But the doctors also felt they might have tapered Robin off of her steroids a little too quickly.
They increased Robin's steroids and kept her overnight for observation. She quickly returned to normal and was very lively and talkative. More so than we have seen her since this nightmare began. Needless to say we were all extremely happy and thankful that this wasn't a more serious problem!
We took Robin back for a follow up visit yesterday to talk about what comes next now that Robin is back on a higher dose of steroids to battle the brain swelling. The Doctor decided it would be best to put immunotherapy on the back burner and start Robin on BRAF Inhibitors. These are drugs that directly target the mutation of melanoma that Robin has. You can click HERE for some more information on how they work. The one downside to this form of treatment is that it is a very regimented dosage that also requires some fasting before and after taking the medicine but at the end of the day they may be even more effective than the immunotherapy. The reason they didn't start Robin on the BRAF in the first place was they had to send her biopsy out for further testing to ensure that Robin had this particular mutation of melanoma which took time, and the Doctor wanted to start any kind of treatment as soon as possible.
There was a silver lining in this often dark cloud. A family friend, Will, is also fighting melanoma, but on his leg. He has been in the fight longer than Robin so is able to give her some guidance, perspective and most importantly the support that can only come from someone going through the same challenge as you. He had an appointment just after Robin's so we were all happy they got a chance to talk in person for a few minutes. Seeing how well Will is doing is definitely giving us all a lot of hope.
Again... We cannon thank everyone enough for all of the love, prayers and support!
Robin had a small setback about 2 weeks ago. She was having trouble putting sentences together. She was saying that she knew what she wanted to say but couldn't remember even the simplest of words. With that we took her to the hospital where they determined that she Robin's brain swelled up a little, most likely from the radiation treatment. But the doctors also felt they might have tapered Robin off of her steroids a little too quickly.
They increased Robin's steroids and kept her overnight for observation. She quickly returned to normal and was very lively and talkative. More so than we have seen her since this nightmare began. Needless to say we were all extremely happy and thankful that this wasn't a more serious problem!
We took Robin back for a follow up visit yesterday to talk about what comes next now that Robin is back on a higher dose of steroids to battle the brain swelling. The Doctor decided it would be best to put immunotherapy on the back burner and start Robin on BRAF Inhibitors. These are drugs that directly target the mutation of melanoma that Robin has. You can click HERE for some more information on how they work. The one downside to this form of treatment is that it is a very regimented dosage that also requires some fasting before and after taking the medicine but at the end of the day they may be even more effective than the immunotherapy. The reason they didn't start Robin on the BRAF in the first place was they had to send her biopsy out for further testing to ensure that Robin had this particular mutation of melanoma which took time, and the Doctor wanted to start any kind of treatment as soon as possible.
There was a silver lining in this often dark cloud. A family friend, Will, is also fighting melanoma, but on his leg. He has been in the fight longer than Robin so is able to give her some guidance, perspective and most importantly the support that can only come from someone going through the same challenge as you. He had an appointment just after Robin's so we were all happy they got a chance to talk in person for a few minutes. Seeing how well Will is doing is definitely giving us all a lot of hope.
Again... We cannon thank everyone enough for all of the love, prayers and support!