Friends and Family,
WE’RE IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got the call today. I have the T790 mutation! WE’RE GOING TO SAN DIEGO!
Okay, that was a blatant rip-off of those TV adds where some athlete says “I’m going to Disneyland!” right after winning the Super Bowl or some other equally gigantic event. But to me the Super Bowl seems pretty puny when compared to LIFE!
WE’RE GOING TO SAN DIEGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I will attempt to temper my enthusiasm long enough to give you the details. No promises.
This Sunday I will take my last Tarceva so that I can start an 8-day cleanout period before I start the new drug. But before I start the new drug, next week I’ll go to SAN DIEGO… YAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! (Sorry, but I did say no promises)… for two days of tests. I’ll have 12 hours of hourly EKG’s, a follow-up EKG 12 hours later, a CT scan, an eye exam, an echocardiogram, and a test to see how many times I can say,“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” without making a mistake. Then they’ll have me count down from 100 backwards by 7’s while skipping rope, also backwards.
WE’RE GOING TO SAN DIEGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry. It just keeps leaking out! Anyway, I just made up the last part of my pre-trial test protocol. I’ll let you decide how much of it was made up.
On October 14th I’ll start taking AZD9291. This is a pill that I will take once daily. Despite all the heart, eye, and rope-skipping tests, the side effects are usually minimal.
I can take the drug at home, but will need to come to San Diego weekly for the first three weeks, then every three weeks, and eventually every six weeks for tests.
Once I get rolling, I’ll be able to fly down and back in the same day.
Now on to the other important stuff. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All your thoughts and prayers for a positive T790 result paid off!
I will be the first to tell you that I am the massive beneficiary of a giant run of dumb luck! I will also be the first to tell you that it wasn’t ALL dumb luck. It was you, and it was me! We did it! WE’RE GOING TO SAN DIEGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ThankYouThankYouThankYou for your very important part of this! Even though the odds of getting in were 50/50 (and not as high as my Portland oncologist thought), it felt a lot more like an almost-sure thing waiting to happen. With everything lining up the way it has been lining up, and with all the support that you have given, how could it not be almost a sure thing? You have my gratitude!
More to follow after I crash from my adrenaline rush.
Love,
Dann
P.S. Thank you!
