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
Hi
I hope you realise that was written with tongue firmly in cheek. My wife and I were up at the top of the shard s couple of years ago and had a meal, part of the bucket list 
You're going to smash this trial. If it was based on resolve and determination you would sail through with flying colours!
Good luck (again)
Tvman xx
Hi Annette
My son is now home, I picked him up at the boat terminal in Belfast. He hasn't been here at Christmas since 2011 or 2012 so I'm going to make the most of him. Christmas day is going to be special this year, pity my daughter wasn't here, she's somewhere in The Borders in Scotland at her in-laws this year but we'll see her and little Harry in January.
Imps? No,never heard of them either, but then we have our little fairies at the bottom of the garden
Tvman xx
Have a great time at your niece's Daloni, and get to sleep! Lol 
Tvman xx
