Maria's Journey: BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!! YeeeeHaaa!!!!!We have just...

Maria's Journey: BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!! YeeeeHaaa!!!!!We have just...: BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!! YeeeeHaaa!!!!! We have just received notice that the experimental drug that Maria Klump has been taking over the ...

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!! YeeeeHaaa!!!!! We have just received notice that the experimental drug that Maria Klump has been taking over the past 3 weeks, is working. The drug, Oprozomib, is pushing her Lambda Light Chains(LLC) down. If you recall from our last post, her Lambda Light Chains(LLC), have been rising for several months. The Lambda Light Chains(LLC) serve as a marker for her oncologist, which tells him if her disease is progressing or regressing in her body. The side effects of the drug, however, have increased. Along with the chronic nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, there is also severe acid reflux being felt by Maria. She is on the drug every other week, so she does get a break from taking the drug. Still, this is great news! Thanks be to God who has made all of this possible! Further updates to come.

New Update- September 2013

We have a new update on Maria Klump's conditon in her fight against multiple myeloma cancer. Several months ago, her readings for her lambda light chains(LLC), which is a marker for her oncologist to determine at what stage the multiple myeloma is in her body, have been steadily increasing each month, which means she is currently relapsing from her plasma stem cell transplant that she received in December 2011. She is currently involved in a clinical study at The Siteman Cancer Center/Barnes- Washington University with her oncologist, Dr. Ravi Vij. She is taking an experimental drug called Oprozomib from Onyx Therapeutics, Inc. This is an experimental drug that has been tested on approximately 79 patients thus far. Oprozomib works by preventing the breakdown of protein in cells, causing the cells to die. Cancer cells are more susceptible to these effects than normal cells. Since this is an experimental drug, the long term side effects are not known. Please pray for Maria and her family during this difficult time. There will be more updates to come.