Hi Gloria:
I am sorry your partner has to deal with the lc.
If she has 50 to 60% reduction at this stage, I would say that is pretty good. I guess she has to go through May at least before she is done with chemo. The chemo she is on now is a good place to start. Maybe she will attain stability and be able to take a chemo break. I think some take tarceva after doing first line chemo for a while such as carboplatin/taxol. Some take it because the first line teatment did not do much and I think some take it to keep the cancer at bay after it has ben significantly reduced by first line therapy. Some may be able to have surgery after first line chemo and radiation. Other drugs that I read about in recent studys are alitma, avastin, gemzar. With the significant reduction in tumor size, perhaps your partner could be a candidate for targeted radiation therapys such as cyberknife surgery and image guided radiaton therapy to kill off the tumors. Here are some links:
http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?c=4
http://www.accuray.com/
http://www.elekta.com/healthcareinternational.nsf
I would be suspicious of any oncologist who made such a pronouncement of a year to live. The smart ones know they don't really know and are reluctant to make such predictions.
At any rate, the treatment your partner is having now is good and appears to be working. After she is done, she should consider going to a major cancer center where they have the technology discussed in the links for a review of her situation to see what the next step would be.
You and your partner have my best wishes.
Don M