good luck michelle

chris (oz too)

Michelle, I am so glad you got your mum moved and she now has your doctor.
I know you feel much better about her.  She will settle in and should be
much better off.
Hope you can get satisfaction about the cancer on her head.  Try to rest
some after the long day; maybe you can sleep tonight.
Gwen

Hi Michelle

I do hope that your day went better than expected and that your mum
settles in OK.

I know that you have done the right thing for her and she will be
better off from what you have said so I do hope that brings you
comfort.

Hope sleep comes easier for you tonight, I know the stress of too
little sleep for too long and it makes everything else seem that much
harder.

Take care
Liz

Dear Michelle,

I am so glad things have worked out for you in moving your mom.   It is so
important to be an advocate for someone in any kind of a care facility.
Having them in a place nearby is essential for that.   You have shown great
care and concern for your mom, and I am sure she will be better off for your
efforts.

I hope the move goes smoothly and without a single hitch :-)

Best Regards,
Evelyn

Hi Michelle,  Read this and thought of your mom.  AW

Soft X-Ray Therapy Useful for Cutaneous Epithelial Malignancies
By Megan Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 27 - Soft X-ray therapy of cutaneous basal and
squamous cell carcinomas, using a radiation schedule that takes into account
the clinically observed tumor involution under treatment, may be a good
alternative to surgery for an increasing number of older patients with
co-morbidities, according to a group of dermatologists from Germany.

"Vascularity and oxygen supply differ even between tumors of the same
histologic type," Dr. Ludwig Suter and colleagues from Fachklinik Hornheide
in Munster write in the December issue of the Journal of the American
Academy of Dermatology. "This can influence the response to radiotherapy.
Less radiosensitive tumors may be insufficiently irradiated."

Dr. Suter's team tried to avoid this problem by varying the total dose
according to the observed involution of the tumor being treated and the
appearance of an erosive reaction.

To evaluate the efficacy of this schedule, they have followed up 87.6% of
1267 irradiated fields for at least 5 years or until death of the patient.
The average follow up period of all irradiated fields was 77 months.

The cure rate at 5 years was 94.8% for basal cell carcinomas and 90.4% for
squamous cell carcinomas. These cure rates are well within the relatively
wide range of cure rates reported in the literature -- between 71% and 99%,
the investigators point out.

These results, they also note, confirm results of earlier studies showing
higher cure rates of basal cell carcinomas compared with squamous cell
carcinomas, of previously untreated tumors compared with previously treated
and recurrent tumors, and of smaller malignancies or those with a lower
T-class or stage.

Summing up, Dr. Suter told Reuters Health "a low recurrence rate (5.1%) and
only few late ulcerations in the irradiated field (6.3%) demonstrated the
efficacy of soft X-ray therapy." Most of the late ulcerations (82.5%) could
be "conservatively cured" with ointments and moist compresses, the
researcher added.

These results, the authors conclude, "verify the usefulness of soft X-ray
therapy for cutaneous epithelial malignancies.

J Am Acad Dermatol 2005;53:993-1001.