Hi folks
After a couple of weeks of uncertainty I heard today that I have been accepted onto the clinical trial my doc had proposed. She waved the written confirmation in her hand, looking delighted, and then had me sign the consent forms.
It’s good news on two counts. First, I am hopeful this trial will achieve something for me. It’s an approach that’s worked for me before and it fits with the genetic profile of the cancer I have. Second, my doc has managed to persuade the trials team to let me skip the genetic screening normally required by the trial. I have had a lot of work done on the genetics of the cancer in my body so the data were there already but it took some work to get hold of some of these (the testing was done at a different hospital) and to have the trials team accept them. If I’d had to go through screening first it would have taken about 3 months. My doc doesn’t think I can afford to wait that long so I would have been offered chemo instead. Who knew it could get so complicated?
I had some blood tests today and the results are looking good so I’m cleared for a liver biopsy on Friday. Next they need an echocardiogram, possibly on Monday. That’s tricky to book at short notice, I’m told, and apparently will require a willing technician to do it in their lunch hour as a favour to the researchers. Finally, my team need to get all the info to the trials team for them to log it and complete the registration on Tuesday. Do they work on Christmas Eve? Nobody knows.
If we can jump all those hurdles, I’ll start treatment on December 27. If not, it will be a few days later. I kind of hope it will be later as I have plans to be away at Christmas. But I can see my team pulling out all the stops to get this moving and I am reluctant to slow their momentum. I can change plans if needs be.
It’s an odd feeling. I just rock up at the hospital and give them my arm to stick a needle in. Behind the scenes there’s so much going on.
When I got home the puppy took sick so obviously I had to sit and stroke her paw, all but ignoring my younger daughter who’d been sent home early from school feeling unwell. In fairness, she was fast asleep and when she awoke and found her puppy was sick she was as attentive to the puppy as I was.
Phew! What a day. No surprise we didn’t manage the Christmas decorations today. Try again tomorrow
xx
Thanks Gragon. I love the imp story. Made me smile.
I can report that both puppy and daughter are doing well today. It’s the last day of term for my daughter today and that’s always a nice day. It’s the last class of the puppy training course too. I expect Noodle to get a certificate 
If I can just get word from the hospital and firm up the Christmas plans I shall be made up
xx
Well
Here you are on the cusp of a new adventure into the exciting world of a new treatment, possibly the most important of them all. Are you excited, nerves jangling? Join me in that respect.
Just to get the decorations up, yeah? Me too. Well tbh that's my wife's domain. I haven't brought the tree in from the garden yet because my daughter, son in law and lovely little rascal of a grandson
who dotes on me and my wife, are arriving on the 6th of January, so the less time the tree is in the house the better. I'll be bringing it in again next year. That's a promise. My eldest son is arriving on Saturday from Aberdeen so there'll be 4 of us plus my wife's 95 year old mum who won't eat much but she'll make up for that with her singing
You'll be with your own strong family unit over Christmas who are full of pride for you. I trust your little daughter and Noodle will have fully recovered by then and you can all eat, drink and be merry 
Fingers crossed that your new treatment will begin on the 27th, you may have to curtail your break but I think you're fine with that, you can't wait to start it.
All the best Daloni, look after yourself.
Tvman xx
