Day + 27
Andrea, Jasper & I at Lawrencetown Beach on Saturday.......we didn't last very long because it was a bit too cold & windy for laying around at the beach.....but I did throw the "Dummy" in the water for Jasper a whole bunch of times to burn off some of her energy!!
Sue & I enjoying another fire at the "Pit" Saturday night with Andrea & Sue.Quote of the Day:
"IF YOU'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING, IF YOU'RE NOT HARMING YOURSELF OR OTHERS, YOU NEED NOT BE CONCERNED WITH WHAT OTHERS THINK. YOU'RE FREE!"
-Brian L. Weiss, M.D.
I had already written most of my entry for this blog & lost it when my computer decided to shut down.....so I am going to keep this one short!
My week-end was enjoyable.....walks at the beach, fire in the pit with A&S, a lovely afternoon with Coleen driving through villages on the Eastern Shore, and a wonderful meal at Mom & Dad's on Sunday evening...
Today, I spent most of it researching Rituximab.....more specifically, I was reading studies about how effective it is as a maintenance treatment after High Dose Chemo & Autologous Stem Cell transplant. Maintenance therapy refers to therapy used following initial treatment in an attempt to keep cancer from progressing or recurring. Some of the studies are still in progress,(i.e. the study I am participating in)........ initial results show lots of promise.
Trade Name(s):Rituxan
Type of Drug:Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody that belongs to the general class of synthetic substances called biologic response modifiers. It is used to treat certain lymphomas that have lymphocytes with the CD20 receptor.
How Drug Works:A monoclonal antibody is a protein that fits like a lock and key with a protein on the cancer cell. Rituximab (antibody) attaches to the CD20 protein (antigen) on certain cancerous lymphocytes (white blood cells). Once it attaches to the cells, it brings other immune cells to help kill the cancer cells.
Information:
http://www.asheducationbook.org/cgi/content/full/2005/1/321
http://patient.cancerconsultants.com/nhl_cancer_news.aspx?id=35269
Tomorrow, I will find out whether or not I will receive Rituximab every 2 months for the next year. PLEASE SEND POSITIVE THOUGHTS MY WAY TOMORROW.......AS I REALLY WANT TO RECEIVE THE MAINTENANCE TREATMENT OF RITUXIMAB FOR THE NEXT YEAR......& BASICALLY IT IS ALL DECIDED BY THE FLIP OF A COIN!!!!
posted by Angie | 7:59 pm
3 Comments:
Hi Angie, My fingers are crossed for you. Thinking of you often. Sandy
Angie, your weekend sounds WONDERFUL -- and you look fabulous!
I'm definitely going to be sending positive vibes your way -- man, you find out today? Tuesday? Whoo wee -- time to really channel energy your way!
But here's my question: if you end up on the non-Rituxan flip, why can't you remove yourself from the study and get it anyway? Maybe that's a dumb question, but who says you have to compromise your treatment for the sake of the study? Here in the states, it's regularly prescribed to lymphoma patients, with no study participation whatsoever. It's been enormously helpful to a LOT of NHL folks, and I'm close with one HD survivor who's been through myriad regimens and 2 SCTs over 5 years (they told her she was going to die more than once) and only with Rituxan is her oncologist beginning to use the "R" word. She'll find out in a month. She says its completely tolerable, and she feels better than she has since her diagnosis.
Is it that it's not yet ready for release in Canada?? Hey, thank you for your nice email -- I responded right away. Did you get it?
Regarding my CT scan, I'm just about to post more about it on my blog, but I'm really feeling very Zen about it. Obviously I'm hoping I can skip more ICE, but if it's needed, I'm at peace with that. I'm just grateful that I'll be able to get to remission going into the SCT. So many people don't. If, to reach my goal, I end up having to do what I'd expected I'd have to do, it's not the worst thing in the world. You know?
Life is good!
Hey, I forgot to mention that I seriously wish I could hug Jaspar.
MAN, that's a huggable dog!
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