One Step Closer

Today Terry and I visited the Cancer Institute of NJ again. The purpose was twofold. One objective was to inquire about clinical trials. The second was to see if Dr. Poplin, a medical oncologist I saw there last May, thought it would be advantageous to try SIR Spheres rather than begin a new chemo regimen. I researched the possibility of clinical trials before today. What I found was that there are no phase 2 or phase 3 studies around here and even if there were I probably would not qualify as a participant. It seems that all the trials I found, including those that are currently recruiting and those that are not, exclude patients who have had previous chemo treatments. Phase 1 trials are used primarily to determine proper dosages. They use them to find out how much of a new drug can be tolerated by humans without much concern about how effective they are. Efficacy is determined in the subsequent phases. I would be very reluctant to enter a phase 1 trial at this point. Dr. Poplin said that they are taking part in a number of phase 1 studies. Thankfully she also said this was something for me to consider in the future. In other words not now. Dr. Poplin also gave us the best news I could have hoped for today; that pursuing the SIR spheres treatment is a good option at this time. Right now my disease is primarily limited to the liver so it makes sense to attack it there specifically. There is something going on in the lungs but it is small in size and not showing hot on the PET scan. She was not too concerned about it. SIR stands for selective internal radiation. It involves injecting microscopic spheres or beads through a catheter directly into the liver. The spheres contain a radioactive substance called yttrium 90. The physical presence of the spheres blocks the supply of blood to the tumors while at the same time slowly releases the yttrium 90 to irradiate them. Through precise placement they are able to do this with limited affect on healthy liver tissue. Enough science. This procedure is no longer considered experimental but is still very new. Dr. Poplin “cleared” me from a medical management point of view which is what Dr. Nosher wanted before accepting me as a patient. Dr. Nosher is one of a very few radiologists in the country who do the procedure. So now the plan is to see Dr. Nosher and a Dr. Jabbour who is a radiology therapist (I think) on Wednesday. Hopefully it won’t all get canceled because of the snow they’re predicting. There’s no guarantee the two specialists will agree that I should have the procedure and certainly no guarantee that it will work. If it does work it is probably only buying me time. It’s not a permanent cure. But today was a step in the right direction. I’m thankful for it. There are two personal points I’d like to make. Firstly, when this whole EC journey began my Aunt Barbara warned me that I should take control of my own care. She said I should not necessarily listen to any one doctor, to learn whatever I could and stay on top of everything that was being done. I agreed but I never realized how important that was. If I had not researched this on my own, after learning about it from another patient on a mail list forum, I doubt it would be a possibility at this point. Those of you who are fighting a similar battle and those of you that are going through it with them, don’t rely entirely on what you are being told without at least getting a second opinion. I must point out too that this is the second time I sought out this procedure because from what I read about it I felt the time was right. Secondly I think it’s important for anyone who is following my journey to realize how fortunate I have been. Today Dr. Poplin confirmed that I have gotten much more out of the treatment I have received than most people do. Many only last a couple of months. I’m fortunate that I have been able to tolerate it. I’m also fortunate that SIR spheres may be a viable option. I’ve said this before. If you are witnessing a miracle it’s nice to know what you’re looking at. My survival to this point has been miraculous; a blessing from God. I plan to show you more. Carry on. ------------------------------------------------------------------