JUST PILLS

Daughter Margot calls and says this is awful stuff.  George retaliates with, “Yes, this is chemo.”  And it is.  Just pills not intravenously.  The side effects seemed severe to her also.  He should have added that the side effects from regular chemo put me in two nursing homes.

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•  The mutation Panel showed:
•             ALK Rearrangement
•             Better outcome with ALK Variant
• Med: Alectinib
•             Wait for insurance
•             Cost?  $69.00 a pill, 220 pills total.
•                       Will get grants or other financial assistance
•             4 pills twice a day

• Prognosis:  6 to 10 months without treatment.  With treatment the overall survival rate of patients living to 5 yrs with the new medication is 62.5%.

• First two months CT Scan
•             Blood work every two weeks for 3 months
•                         Use the port if they can get it working
•             Side Effects:
•                         Liver irritation           
• Lung irritation feel like pneumonia
• Muscle aches
• Lower heart rate
• Nausea or upset stomach
•             Not all or any of these may happen

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

<A HREF=http://geeeee-zer.blogspot.com/>Himself:</A>  Feeling better now that they have a targeted pill rather than regular chemo.

Myself:  Here I am tackling a difficult situation.  No, I am not ever going in to get in that Russian Submarine again. 

Reading:  More Burkholder.

Watching:  Nova, Tough as Nails…G likes that.

Photo:  2007, SD Maritime Museum.

Gratitude’s:  Actually Glad to be here.  Aleve helps.