EILEEN MERLE-RAO: I have a tendency to have very, weak vocal cords, and I got such a case of bronchitis. I didn't speak, literally did not speak a word for nine weeks. So it was not only the physical side effects, but the emotional side effects, as well, and not knowing what your future is going to be, saying, "How long is this going to take to get my life back?"
ANNOUNCER: That first round of treatment put Eileen in remission for almost two and a half years, but it didn't last.
EILEEN MERLE-RAO: On September 7th, 2001, I found out that the cancer had come back, and I was just at the point when I thought the doctor was going to give me the OK to get pregnant. That was emotionally a mess, too.
ANNOUNCER: The second round of Rituxan with chemotherapy only held off the cancer for eight months. It was then that Eileen's doctors suggested a radioimmunotherapy called Zevalin. Like Rituxan, this new form of treatment also uses antibodies specific to the cancer cells. The difference is this therapy has radiation particles attached to it, which provides an extra punch in destroying cancer cells.
STEPHANIE GREGORY, MD: The patient who is appropriate for radioimmune therapy is essentially a patient who has relapsed following initial therapy for a low-grade lymphoma. The FDA has actually approved Zevalin for rituximab-refractory patients, which means that they have been exposed to Rituxan, perhaps did not respond to that, and then they are a candidate for Zevalin.
