Keith started chemotherapy today. He will be taking Temodar once daily for the next 42 days. Temodar is administered orally (at home) and has relatively modest side effects - sometimes nausea and usually hair loss. (Keith has also been given one of the new anti-nausea drugs to take in combination. We are told that most patients do not notice any nausea with this regimen.)

Temodar is a relatively new part of the protocol - and has only recently begun to be prescribed for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastomas. It was orginally used only for patients with re-emerging tumors - i.e. those who had already completed radiation treatment. It's effectiveness for newly diagnosed tumors was confirmed by studies over the last year. Keith will take the drug during his course of radiation and may even continue to take it after radiation.

Temodar has a web site if you want to read more - and there are many articles if you google the name. Temodar is at: http://www.temodar.com/temodar/application.

In a nutshell, the drug interferes with the DNA in fast growing cells - tumor cells - and prevents them from reproducing. It has little effect on slow growing cells. (The reason patients undergoing chemo lose their hair is because hair is comprised of fast growing cells.) Temodar will not eliminate the tumor - but may help slow it down or shrink it.

Tomorrow: staples come out!