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Showing posts from October, 2019

Cranking up the Heat!

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There is a new generation in town! We dedicate this blog to the Lebanese people across the globe. Short of being able to physically be there, we lend you our full support and admiration hoping for change to come soon your way. Today is the third day of our 6th week of treatment. We consulted with Dr. Kleef and agreed that we would benefit from more treatment. We would like to reduce the tumor burden and ideally get into remission.  Layla is feeling well in general. We managed a quick weekend getaway to Salzburg, the birth place  of Mozart and the setting for the Sound of Music. We also visited a gorgeous touristic place almost out of a fairy tale called Lake Hallstat. Both Salzburg and Hallstat are gorgeous cities in the Austrian Alps. The highlight of our past week was a family visit from The US. My sister Cathy, my niece Nathalie and baby Sargento (due April 8th of this year who was the size of an eclair according to Nathalie's baby app, Can't wait!) spe

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh my

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We are into our 4th week of treatment. A lot of you are already familiar with the treatment Layla had in March and August of last year at the Kleef institute. This one is very similar with minor additions and at least three weeks longer. We are looking at seven weeks of treatment that include two fever weeks. Layla already had her first fever week on 9/23/19 and is scheduled to have the second one on 10/28/19. The fever is caused by a drug called interleukin II. Fever is our friend. It wakes up the immune system and reminds it to attack those unwanted cells. The trick is to induce the fever gently without wreaking havoc on the body. Layla is tolerating the treatments pretty well, feels good in general and has a very positive attitude. It is difficult for us to measure progress in terms of tumor markers and scans as immunotherapy treatment can cloud these results. We are enjoying living in the City. Vienna has been voted the most livable City in the world for the second year i