(Our moon waxing gibbous, 91% illumination)
(photo P Volker)
(photo P Volker)
Ahh, back from dreams, back from the Institute, back for the dentist and back from my morning walk. I feel runned over by a truck a few times maybe forward and then it backed over me just for good measure. Geez.
Well, let’s take them in that order. If it wasn’t for the “tapas on steriods” dream two nights ago I’d be really lost right now. It has really buoyed me up substantially. I am so grateful.
Then at the Institute yesterday we hit the point in my treatment where we are had to admit that we need to find the next stepping stone. The trial drug has not in the long run done it’s job. So, this is interesting, I am scheduled for a biopsy of my tumors to see if anything new can be learned. Apparently things change as in this stuff can mutate and it’s DNA can change. If this has happened then a new catagory of drugs could be employed and possibly immunotherapy. This is one possibility that needs checking and that is where we are heading next.
And the 0750 dental appointment to tackle a filling. Isn’t that like ridiculously early or is it just me. Anyway that worked out great because I was thinking of my dream the whole time. Less dreadful than I imagined. And I got back early enough to be here for the walk on time. It was such a relief to be JUST walking.
JUST loves, Felipé.
The biopsies where my least favourite part of the whole experience and hurt terribly.the tumours where on my left hand and they cut a few out and even with local anesthesia the pain was cruel.the lymph node biopsy wasn’t at all painful but I think that was because the thicker flesh, the groin,ment that the local anesthetic was absorbed better.oddly the biopsies where worse than when they cut my finger off again under local anesthesia.i don’t think that have any tumours at the moment just patches and plaques of mycosis fungoides cells although some of the plaques can stick out a lot and must be borderline with tumours?some of these plaques had become infected too but I think that the antibiotics they gave me a month ago got rid of that.i have a visit to the Rare Lymphona Clinic in Newcastle on the 5th of November and I think that I am going to be put forward for PUVA treatment 3 times a week hopefully locally as Newcastle is 30 miles north of here and a bit much to do 3 times a week.the 5th of November is also Guy Night in England although up north we always called it Bonfire Night.they burn poor old Guy Falkes although it is probably a corruption of a pagan Celtic festival called Samhain and connected to Halloween.it is believed that the bonfires represented the return of the sun in the spring.i believe that the original Guy Falkes wasn’t burnt to death but shot and chopped to bits and the bits burnt but he was already dead bit like that unfortunate fellow who was in the news a year ago who visited the Saudi Arabian embassy in Istanbul and came out in parts and they say we’ve advanced!?
Kevan ~ that all sounds too grueling to imagine. You are one brave and hardy dude. I for one have this procedure scheduled in three weeks. So the doc needs to check this out to maybe more personalize my treatment. Yup, here we are at Halloween or whatever it is called locally. I have never been at home with this holiday. I don’t have the right gene. Felipé.
Dear Phil,
All that and you just feel rolled over by a truck a couple times? I would be going to bed and claiming cake and a hot tea taken by room service!!!
I was telling a friend of mine, who is a blacksmith/silversmith, that when I started in the role I have now, 10 years ago, we knew only about 3 mutations for a type of lung cancer (called non-small cells), and the third mutation was just available for diagnosis then… 10 years later, we have a whole different story… And we no longer can talk about “lung cancer” or “breast cancer” but now we give all these other surnames like EGFR, KRAS, ALK, etc and a combination of those… and this is how the medicine and the treatment becomes more personalized… at times, we have a drug that goes with those mutations and instead of hitting the tumor with an elephant, we do it with a mosquito… and so the impact of the treatment in the body is less brutal. But yes, we only know what to hit if we have a picture of it… hence the biopsy. I am sorry you have to go through it, but I am hopeful my work colleagues in the oncology group (Dr. Luis, who was in the Pilgrims table works on that group) have found a treatment for the mutations yours have.
You know I am here to help in any way I can right? So let me know if there is anything I can do.
Lots of scientific loves from my left brain and lots of love from the bottom of my heart,
Cris
Cris ~ gracias for your explanation. I am always in need of explanation. Doctor’s don’t seem to have time for the long story. Again I am reminded of my childhood method of crossing the river by jumping from rock to rock. Treatments don’t seem to last and we are off looking for another, moving from rock to rock. Felipé.x