June 3, 2021
In my last
blog I left it at the point where I was awaiting a response to see if I would
be accepted into this drug trial. On May
26th I received confirmation of my participation. That meant that I would start the trial on
May 27th with a 12 hour stay in the hospital in the Cancer Trial
area of the Chemotherapy Unit at the Ottawa Hospital – General Campus. The long
stay was intended to monitor the drug absorption into my system and to monitor
my vitals and blood reaction to the drug over time. After the initial day I was monitored
frequently with the same procedures and saw my Dr. more often than before. This will continue for 28 days and then there
will be another 12-hour day of monitoring at the end of the cycle.
On my first
day I settled into a chair around 8 AM in the Pharmacology Pod at the General
Hospital for my long stay. The first
hour or so was a busy time as blood was drawn, BP was taken, ECG was done, and
vitals recorded. After all of that I was
given my 28 days of pills for the trial.
Each day I take 4 pills at the same time of day. I must fast for 2 hours before and 1 hour
after taking the pills. During this first
day they drew blood 8 times for measurement and baseline establishment. They took my vitals at various intervals
during the day. I managed to amuse
myself at the beginning watching and soaking up the process. After all of that I resorted to reading,
sleeping, doing some email, watching Netflix, and generally pissing away
time. As the day passed, the patients
left the building and a small crew of nurses stayed behind to finish their
shifts at 8 PM. Unfortunately, I had
brought along the wrong earphones so I could not watch movies until most of the
patients left. I was also responsible
for feeding myself during the day, so I had a small, packed lunch and some
nibbles for the rest of the day. During
this day I was also monitored for side effects and happily I was able to
indicate that I was experiencing none of the typical side effects.
My first
return visit to the hospital was 8 AM the following morning. I did blood samples and visited with Lena to
go through several questions about how I was feeling etc. Only then was I allowed to take my second
dose of pills. Once that was complete, I
was on my way for a couple of days to work through the trial process.
June 19,
2021
Three weeks
has passed and now I can outline some of the changes that have happened since
the start of the Trial. As I review my
Drug Diary listing (who knew I would have a drug diary in my life) I see the
full gamut of symptoms from this drug.
But I have not told you what this drug is so I will start at the
beginning. The drug is called CFI-402257
and it is designed as an oral drug that blocks TTK protein kinase activity.
“TTK is a protein
that is important in regulating cell growth, and cell death, and in ensuring
proper cell division. Many tumours are
shown to make too much TTK. When there
is too much TTK produced, it is believed to contribute to uncontrolled cancer
cell growth and cell division leading to additional mutations in cancer
cells. Therefore, it is believed that
blocking this protein from working will lead to cancer cell death, stopping
tumours from growing or shrinking them” – note quote is an excerpt from my 16
page consent form to join the Trial.
Obviously,
with such a drug being infused into your system, there will be some effects
that the body will demonstrate that are referred to as side effects. These side effects are list in a long list
but the key ones that have affected me over the period have been Nausea,
Diarrhea, low WBC, fatigue or malaise, and reduced appetite. I have experienced all of these except for
low WBC. My platelets are remaining high
during the many blood tests that I have had.
In the first week of the trial, I lost 10 lbs in weight and felt weakened
by that change. My appetite has been low,
and my eating habits have changed to that of a small bird. I am still struggling to gain back any of my
lost weight. I have had some terrible
nights due to a trial with a sleep aid while going through these other changes.
I have spoken with the DR about these effects and we agreed that I best abandon
the sleep aid for the time being. He
will prescribe a new choice sometime in the future. Otherwise, I have managed
the nausea with meds, but I am trying to get along now without those extra
drugs. I limited the use of nausea meds
to early in the day. I have had one or
two really good days when I felt almost normal.
Unfortunately, my usual state is one of low energy, listlessness, and
general fatigue.
That, in a
nutshell, is how the trial is affecting me these days. I find some peaceful times with naps and
sleep in front of PGA Golf and treasure those moments. The real effects, those that hinder the
cancer growth, will not be known until my third cycle of the trial when I have
a CT Scan and compare it to my CT from just prior to the start of the
trial. This upcoming week id the end of
my first cycle and I will spend Wednesday (June 23, 2021) at the hospital for
another 12-hour marathon of testing after I take the drug in the morning. This time I will have the right earphones so
I can watch movies at my leisure without disturbing other patients. The next day I start cycle 2 without a 12
hours stay in the hospital.
In all of this I have still managed to uphold my end of the boat business with Bruce. We have delivered most of our boats to our clients, dealt with some interventions and miscellaneous requests on top of the regular spring business. It went pretty smoothly all things considered.
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| Me, watching Longmire episodes! |
In other
news, Freddi is now fully vaccinated as she managed to get an appointment in
Alexandrea this last week. She has had a
couple of days where she felt like she was hit by a truck, but she is coming
out of that very well. We are now able
to travel and are planning a trip to visit our son and his family in Pemberton
BC in a few weeks. We have not seen them
since January 2020.
Today is a
sunny Saturday with a coolish wind and we are all together here at Lake Bernard. What else could we ask for as we enjoy the
location, weather and company. Thank you
for dropping in and I will update this Blog as I settle into my second cycle
when I hope to find a new point of balance for third old body.
Be well and
stay safe ……
