I am about to start a new research study this week. It is the wild west of treatment options and I have no idea what to expect. I'm more hopeful than nervous, yet some nervousness is to be expected. I'm embarking on a path that doctors do not know what to expect. The company that designed the drug is surely hoping that the drug will do what they designed it to do without causing too much harm to the patient. We are all hoping for miracles through science. Unlike chemotherapy, where we all know what to expect generally, like throwing a nuclear bomb at cancer, it also throws toxins at every organ, cell, and muscle in the body, causing too many side effects to list. Of course, along with the hopes that chemo will halt or kill cancer in its tracks, it also decimates the immune system, sometimes causing long term organ damage to the heart, lungs, and kidneys, as well as subtle side effects like lowered white blood counts for years and chemo brain (where we swear we have long term memory issues resulting from the chemo). Chemotherapy has its place, since it, along with surgery and radiation have been the main treatment protocols for cancer patients. The protocols and options have been expanding and now there is less harmful chemotherapy (some are maintenance chemotherapies), plus a whole host of immunotherapy and research studies working on a T-cell response. It's actually an exciting time in cancer research and I am lucky to have the options I have since 5 years ago, the options and study's we have today just did not exist. I cannot wait to be one of the pioneers in research. The researchers are hard at work trying to come up with better, less harmful ways to treat and hopefully cure cancer but their research is no good unless they have people willing to join the effort and be the test subjects. I look at it this way, I have stage 4 cancer that is considered incurable. I was in one research study for a year and a half, and at that time, the drug I was taking slowed the growth of my tumors. I had a chance to take a drug that is not yet FDA approved, and I was one of the subjects that it worked for. It didn't cure my cancer but it slowed it down further, seemed to prevent new tumors from forming and I gave lots of data in my daily journal to help them understand how this drug affected me. I have no doubt that the drug I was taking will be FDA approved in the near future. Now I head into a riskier study. This is a phase one study, while the last study I was in was a phase three study. This study will require infusions weekly at first and 2-3 days of tests and observations weekly. I say, bring it on! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I can lose big or I can gain big. The biggest risk is severe side effects, which is always a risk with any study. The risks seem relatively low, however, compared to other treatments, but still, one never knows what to expect with a new treatment, especially one with little data on human subjects. I've researched the company that is leading this study and their science is exciting, to say the least. If they can prompt the immune system to do its job to kill cancer, with lower side effects than current protocols, people can be cured of cancer or at least live longer lives with fewer side effects. I can't wait to report to everyone how this treatment affects me and I am hopeful that the molecules they inject into me, do precisely what they have been designed to do. The most concerning side effects seem to be lowered blood pressure and an extreme immune system response that can be a crisis, which is why they will be observing me for over 24 hours for the first couple of infusions. Here I go....starting Tuesday Morning, I will get my first infusion as I arrive bright and early at the clinic at 6am. Wish me luck, send prayers and I'll keep you all posted!
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