Corrected address

[Xochimilco@aol.com]

Dr. Stabin-  thank you for the corrected address.  Let's see if this reaches the right party this time.


Lindsay Elmendorf



Subj:   Thalium MIBI    

Date:   10/1/01 

To: owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu   

    



Hello-


Can you tell me why a "Thalium MIBI" test would be suggested as one of the procedures to determine whether it is time to halt a regimen of chemotherapy for an oligodendroglioma?  I have such a tumor (no growing, stable now for a couple of years) and have been taking Temodar (temozolomide) for some 21 months.  My oncologist and I are trying to figure out whether/when to stop the treatment. One argument says "keep it up-  if it ain't broke, don't fix it"...and the treatment is reasonably well-tolerated...  but another argument says "if it has done its work, and given that we know this chemo has some undesirable side-effects, why keep poisoning yourself if you are getting no further benefits"...  


Dr. Zeltzer at UCLA suggested doing a Thalium MIBI test as one of the ways to help reach a decision-  my oncologist is not familiar with this test, and I have not encountered it in my (purely lay, but fairly extensive) readings on brain tumor treatments.


Hope you can enlighten us!


Lindsay Elmendorf

xochimilco@aol.com