Half Way Through Phase I

Saturday Morning Walk

We are half way through the first phase of our treatment. It consists of three phases:

1. Boca Raton with Dr. Rosenberg getting the weekly treatment for 4 weeks of low-dose metronomic chemotherapy, high-dose Vitamin C, Tauroldine and lots of re-purposed  drugs and supplements.
2. We go to Mexico City with Dr. Williams for the CT-Guided Intra-Tumoral injection of OX-40 and CpG directly into the liver lesions.
3. Then back to Boca Raton to continue the phase I treatment for 6-8 more weeks.

There is no treatment on Fridays. We had a low key weekend that was mostly spent at home between reading, TV, lounging, cooking, etc. We managed to leave the house on Saturday to go to the movies. We watched “The House with a Clock in its Walls." It was definitely entertaining. We got to try Shake Shack for the first time afterwards and wanted to see if it lived up to its reputation. We remain faithful to In-N-Out!

At the theater.

At Shake Shack.

On Monday, we met with Dr. Rosenberg in between treatment. He went in detail over the initial baseline lab work. He was excited about the immune system numbers because he has never seen a cancer patient with perfect immune function before. We believe it is attributed to the treatment in Vienna. He was correct about the copper levels. He expected them to be high and they were. He is confident that the numbers will come down with the TM she is taking and that should assist in stopping the proliferation of the cancer. The Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) is high which was no surprise to us but signals the need for intensive treatment. He believes that we have a good plan and was cautiously optimistic about seeing results since her liver functions have shown an improvement in just over a week. The tumor markers, our benchmark for progress, will be evaluated on Wednesday or Thursday of this week....although it is too early in the treatment to see a change. As a reminder, Layla’s tumor markers have skyrocketed since we left Vienna.

Always analyzing the blood work.

When we got home on Monday, there was a box by the door (Surprise!). It was a care package sent to Layla by our friend Kyle. It was full of nice spa/massage/relaxation items. Thank you Kyle. Layla put it to use already.

Busy delivery person!

Care package from our friend, Kyle.

We also got another surprise from my sisters for a weekend getaway to Cuba for Layla and Nina’s 31^st birthday (this Saturday!). Havana is only an hour away and travel arrangements have been made for us to leave Thursday afternoon through Sunday. We are hoping to leave Thursday with blood work results validating the progress.

The Long Beach Community has shown their love and support and is hosting few fund raisers:

Crossfit Belmont Heights is selling Team Layla T-Shirts on their website and all proceeds go to Layla's treatment.

Only $20!

Restauration is donating $3 from the sale of every Soppressata Pizza to Layla's Treatment during the entire month of November!

Romeo Chocolates & The Pie Bar, are hosting Team Layla Music & Wine Strength Party on Saturday, November 10th, from 7-10pm, to raise money for Layla's treatment. We're flying home that weekend because we'll be going to Mexico City on that Monday, so we'll be able to attend the fundraiser.

Meanwhile, We remain overwhelmed with your generosity and support. The Plumfund is reaching and about to exceed our goal! Which is amazing because this treatment is going to be ongoing and any extra funds will be put to good use.

Thank you all!

Love,

Layla, Nina, Samara & Olaf