Dear Stage 4 Club Members
I thought I would write a few notes on my cancer journey. My hope is that things will not perhaps seem quite as desperate (after reading this) for other S4 subjects as they sometimes appear.
Diagnosed as S4 back in Jan. 22. Primary as big as an orange, pelvis lit up ..raddled with cancer ...and some attractive mets partying on the liver. KRAS g12f mutation to cap that lot. 15 to 16 per cent 5 year survival with a median of 20 months for the data set.
In short a black day. After hearing that lot i arranged my affairs and joined Dignitas in Zurich (not wanting to die in a hospital setting).
Wind on 11 months following Capox and Chemoradiation and all those nasties appear to be in slumber. I'm now scheduled for a stoma and a bit of magic on the liver. Those surgeries were not available in Jan 22.
1.There is no cure but the illness is treatable. So be optimistic.
2. Oddly there is no proof that any combination of therapies is per se better than another. So why not try whatever is available. If one does not work then option B might.
3. For those with KRAS mutations the cupboard of options...immunotherapy etc are ineffective and unavailable.
4. The NHS does as well as private insurance. No useful ancilliary procedures or drugs are available to my Category of patient that are not supplied within the NHS.
5. There are lots of splendid, brave patients in the Chemo Suites. I made a few friends there and very oddly we all seem to have spent many years at the LSE. Very odd.
6. Try and keep doing the things you enjoy.
7. If you dont agree with the treatment plan on offer get a second opinion within the Insitution. Its a bit stressful but could pay off. It's a genuine pleasure to see the team that adopted me.
Well, this homily has helped me. Hopefully other Stage 4 candidates will also get some luck and be here longer than they first expected.
Ultimately these cancers will spring back to life and it may be time to say adios at that juncture. A few years grace after 18 months of treatments seems a not unreasonable objective.
Best Wishes
