So I received a call from my former oncologist. Apparently, the new chemo drug that I was hoping to get will become available in the next couple of weeks. I am ambivalent, to say the least. If I wasn't doing as well as I am, I would definitely jump at the chance. However, I am very leery of any chemo at this point. I have spent the past two years poisoning my body, suffering multiple visits to the hospital as a consequence, and simply losing any quality of life. Not to mention the suffering and pain it has wrought upon my family, especially my children.
So what to do? Ramon thinks I should at least consider it and talk to the NP about it. I suppose I ought to but the mere notion sets me on edge. I am angry at the entire medical community who told me there wasn't anything they could do for me anymore and essentially sent me home to die. How is it possible that five weeks of alternative treatment has done more for me than two years of chemo? The pain is virtually gone, something that never happened with two years of chemo. Someone please explain to me why people with Stage 4 cancers are told they are incurable and yet get treated at this facility and are living cancer free years after.
The entire medical oncology is a sham. Every single medical teaching facility in this country is associated with a pharmaceutical company. Treatment regimens are financially driven and what is taught in medical school is so incredibly skewed that people die unnecessarily as a consequence. Chemo kills. Fact. And we are told one big fat lie. People with cancer do not need to die. There are cures out there but unless there's financial incentives, no one hears about them.
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I don't know the specifics of the new drug and I'm assuming that it's the clinical trial that you wrote about earlier. So here are some general comments.
ReplyDeleteGet your PET scans and figure out, with your oncologist, how well the low-dose radiation + heat is working. If it's working well, then ask yourself and your present and former oncologists what would be the benefit of switching to the clinical trial drug now. Ask also, depending on the trial phase, what's the possibility that you may be in a placebo group.
If it's a Phase 1 safety trial, you may just get the drug for a short time to assess the tolerability and toxicity of the drug. Ask if, after the trial is over, the drug will be available to you.
Keep your options open though. It seems like you meet the eligibility requirements for the trial, so find out how long the enrollment period will last.
And stay strong my friend.
(real name Shiv Prasad)
Hey, Shiv,
ReplyDeleteHello, my virtual friend and fellow cancer compatriot. The clinical trial is actually in Phase 3 and the drug is slated for FDA approval sometime next year. I am questioning the value of starting a chemo regimen at this time. And I won't be part of a clinical trial per se. Rather, I will be receiving the drug as part of a "compassionate" program. I do enjoy certain perks, being metastatic and all.
The drug is called PARP and has been proven effective against a variety of cancers.
Incidentally, my tumor markers have dropped dramatically. I had forgotten about a little something called tumor lysis that initially occurs when those cancer cells are dying and result in elevated markers.
Praying for you, my friend.