Lee

Just got this email as I'm driving down to Florida, I feel sick. If you have a candle, please light it for my friend Lee McPherson who happens to be a true warrior and hero.

As many of you know (forgive me if you don't know, I can't keep track of who I've gotten in touch with), Lee had a seizure about a month ago. An MRI showed that there was a new spot and further progression of the tumor. Lee has been struggling to recover from the seizure and seemed to be improving until about two weeks ago when Kathy (Lee's Mom) and I noticed that he seemed to be having more trouble with his right side, with balance and with communication. 
Lee had a follow-up appt. (he started a new chemo recently) with one of our oncologists (Dr. Nassir) yesterday- Dr. Nassir was concerned enough with Lee's condition that he wanted to admit him to Cedars (Lee refused), and compromised with an MRI scheduled for today.
We had the MRI at 10, and a follow-up appt with our regular doctor, Dr. Rudnick. Today's MRI showed that within the space of month the tumor has progressed significantly. It is now progressing in two ways- enhancing and non-enhancing, both aggressively. At this point Dr. Rudnick gave us a couple of options:
1. radiation of Lee's entire brain- this can lead to compromised thinking, and an essential change to who Lee is. 
2. a combination of an experimental drug (Vrinistat) and Accutane (yes, an acne medication, but it has shown some ability to work on some cancers)
3. another combination two different chemos
*there is a 7-15% chance that Lee will respond well to the above chemo treatments 
4. do nothing more in the way of treatment of the cancer 
This decision is ultimately up to Lee and we are taking the weekend to talk/think about it. We have an appointment with Dr. Rudnick Monday to talk about what we want to do next. 
Lee is really tired and struggling to get around and communicate, but if you would like to come by and see him or send him an email, I know that he would appreciate that you are thinking of him. It might be a good idea to call first if you are thinking of coming by this weekend, as we have a lot to deal with in the next day or two. 
I hope that I haven't forgotten anyone, and that I've been clear about what is going on- details, etc. Let me know if you have any questions, I'll try and answer them and I'll keep everyone posted as things develop.
Dana