When we were in to see Dr R the other day he showed us the thickening of the meninges seen extending from the base of the skull on down. He didn't give us a technical name for it but with some research and help from someone on the Sarcoma Alliance message boards I believe that the medical term for this is Leptomeningeal Meningitis. The treatment is called intraventricular chemotherapy and it may be administered by lumbar puncuture (spinal tap) or by use of an Ommaya reservoir with the tip in the ventircle. Using the spinal tap method a small amount of chemotherapy is injected directly into the CSF during the lumbar puncture. The Ommaya reservoir is implanted under the scalp and is used in much the same way as the portacath to administer the chemotherapy.
The chemotherapy agent most often mentioned in all the readings that I came across was methotrexate, and Dr R did mention this drug during our appointment with him.
Pete's father drove him into the city today for his radiation treatment and the brain MRI. Monday he will have radiation treatment #4 and the spinal tap to administer chemotherapy directly into the spinal column.
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