business or pleasure?

The trip was a success!!  I am on the schedule for starting the drug on May 8th (assuming I can work out my insurance issues, which are still up in the air).  I will go back every other week for a quick appointment and the drug infusion (which should only take about 90 minutes).  In three months we will scan and see if it is working or not.  Of course it will be working, so we will do the same routine for another 12 week round.  If (when) I am still responding I would go every 12 weeks for 2 years for the medicine.  I originally thought it was every other week for a whole year, so 6 months was a nice surprise.  It's a small price to pay for possibly the best medicine melanoma has seen yet. 

From what I understand the response rates are around 25% or better.  It is drug very similar to Yervoy (IPI) that I responded to so well to in June.  It acts just the same way, but uses different pathways.  Pathways that aren't showing the same side-effects as IPI, and the side effects are generally less severe.  This is the first trial of this drug that would let me in because of my side-effects from IPI.  This trial is to see how patients who had dose-limiting toxicities with IPI (remember I could only take one dose of the four you are supposed to receive because of the colitis) would do with the anti-PD1.   It is a very exciting opportunity.  This is the same drug I tried to get in Portland. 

It will be very interesting to see what happens.  Will I respond quickly, as I did with IPI?  I hope so.  I have now lost some range of motion in my arm due to my growing tumor.  It hurts when I stretch, reach, and is very obvious when I swim.  The pain is above the tumor, and it feels like a tendon or something has just been pulled too tight, and has no more give.  So I kind of need it to work quickly. 

In the meantime we need to move!  We close on our house today, and have to be out of this one by Monday.  So ready or not...

Just found out I qualified.  Sitting on the softest beach, watching the sun go down and the moon rise.  It was a good night.

Nothing more romantic than the ocean.  Even if I was alone.