Today I had the fourth chemotherapy treatment which starts the last of the four three-week treatment cycles.
In three weeks, I will begin the maintenance phase, which still involves chemotherapy, but only one drug instead of two. Otherwise the maintenance phase is pretty much the same as the treatment phase. I'll still receive an anti-nausea and a steroid drug through the IV prior to the chemo drug being administered. I'll still have some fatigue, although somewhat less, a few days after the chemo. I will still be on the once every three week cycle for at least the next nine weeks. Eventually, it may extend to once every four weeks and then continue in that format as long as the chemo keeps working.
I will have a CT along with the first maintenance chemo on July 2. Hopefully,
the CT will show even fewer and smaller lesions than the last scan done on May 19th.
The doctor shared some promising research that was all the buzz at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) convention held in Chicago recently. The third generation of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (the drug line that uses the same approach to fight the cancer as Tarceva had been doing for me) is showing some really good success in current clinical trials and the trials are now being fast-tracked. The new oral drug may be available to the public as early as six months from now but should be available no later than sometime in 2015. It has been showing a 50-60% success rate and appears to have gentler side effects than Tarceva. So maybe that will be something for me once it becomes available.
That's all the news for now.
