Time for another “I’m sorry I haven’t been writing but I’m going to try to write more” post!
I really do need to sit down and write a bit more, though, in all honesty. Aside from singing in the shower it’s one of my better outlets. And, unlike singing in the shower, I’m clothed and can drink coffee at the same time. Win-win? Something like that.
I figured I would step in and give a little update as to what’s been going on. As of October of this year it looks like I’m going down the cancer hole again. My lung cancer, persistent pain that it is, has returned for a third visit. There are a couple larger tumors in my upper right lung as well as a few small ones. Consensus between myself and my doctors is that … quite frankly, chemotherapy just isn’t an option this time around. Nor is radiation. Nor is surgery. I like how one of my doctors put it, “We’d rather you not end up looking like Swiss cheese if we can avoid it.”
From anybody who has stared cancer in the face those options can look rather bleak. However, one thing I always told myself going through all the previous chemotherapies is that if I could do these…live a bit longer, I might be around long enough to see something better come out.
This year the FDA approved a medication called Opdivo. Immunotherapy. There’s all sorts of technical ways of explaining it, but let me simplify. Cancer cells are just mutated cells, we know this, we get this. The problem is why our body doesn’t attack those mutated cells. Imagine your cancer cell as a stereotypical chameleon. Tossing up camouflage whenever it perceives danger. Cancer cells do the same thing, disguising themselves as normal cells with a shield of sorts, fooling your white blood cells into not attacking. Now, in comes immunotherapy. The goal is for it to come in, tear down those shields in order to let the white blood cells recognize it for what it is. Prey. Long story short? The Opdivo kicks the door down and lets your body do the grunt work.
Ideally it sounds…so much better. I’ve done two treatments so far and, admittedly, it feels a lot less harsh than any chemotherapy I’ve gone through. Most of the side-effects I’ve felt are minor and things I can easily shrug off.
So far … cautiously optimistic.
To top this off, the doctors at OHSU are looking into doing a little genetic testing on my tumors. A small percent of a small percent of my type of cancer in women my age can be affected by a few specific genetic mutations. If mine match up, it may open a few more doors for me in the means of clinical trials and targeted treatments.
Until then … well, we always have Thanksgiving to look forward to, right? Hope it’s a good one for you folks!
Because putting a little drawn doctor next to the medication clearly makes it more appealing. I’ve never seen the commercials, nor do I know if this little doctor guy is in them. But somewhere, deep down, I’m imagining him as a little human version of Ludwig Von Drake.
“Now vis imm-un-o-ther-a-py ve make ze cancer dead, dead!”
Lopsided Stilts 