I've been accepted into the clinical trial that combines an established drug with a study drug that may or may not increase the efficacy of the established drug. Lab studies are showing that it does, but lab studies often differ from real life.
I will start the treatment the Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving, after I complete the four-week washout period (no treatment) and after I complete everything needed for screening. We are not anticipating any problems with any of the screening as I've been under constant medical care and have had many of the tests before.
I will have to spend a lot of time in San Francisco during the first two cycles (Days 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 28) of the study (28 days each) and then it will taper down to two or three times a cycle.
I am excited to be participating in this study and am very hopeful that this is the tool that God uses to stabilize the cancer and to even cause it to regress.
I continue to feel well with no physical complaints. In fact, now that I'm off the last treatment and finished the "detox" process, my emotions have leveled out and I'm feeling more "normal" ... whatever that may mean!
Last weekend, I drove down to southern California to participate in a Dirty Girl 5K Mud Run (obstacle course), along with six other women from an online support group we belong to. We've been through so much together as all of us were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012. Our team was featured to be a part of the public relations and three of us joined in an interview with ABC7 Los Angeles. The clip aired on October 30 and can be found here: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/food_coach&id=9307136
Life is messy. We encounter obstacles all the time. Sometimes, the best thing is to go around the obstacles, but other times, the only choice is to go over them. We're not meant or designed to do this alone. God never intended us to live in isolation.
I had such a fun time being goofy at the Mud Run! I would like to invite you to join me in another one to be held in the San Francisco area on March 22, 2014. You can register here: http://godirtygirl.com/mud-run/event/Northern-CA-California-2014/69
If you register, please choose the 9:45 a.m. wave and choose "No Sister Left Behind" as your team. My goal is to have 50 women to be a part of this team. If you have had or currently have breast cancer, you can register for free. Otherwise, the cost is a non-refundable $75, with incremental increases in price as it gets closer to the actual day.
You do NOT have to be in shape to participate in this event! You do NOT have to run in this event! You only have to be able to walk 5K (3.1 miles). It's a non-timed event.
(Dirty Girl is a for profit organization. They do make a $250,000 donation to a charitable organization, Bright Pink, regardless of how many registrants participate in their races.)
While the Mud Run is fun and messy, it shows how you have to get down in the trenches with people in order to fully experience what they are going through. It's a good metaphor for life.
I'm still in the book of Numbers in my Bible writing project. I really need to move a bit quicker as I'd like to be done with the law books before the end of the year.
Remembering others ... Michelle, Bryant, Ann ... all of whom are making big decisions regarding future treatments and are experiencing worsening disease.
May God have mercy on us all.