So, I will proceed on to the next clinical trial. (CTLA-4) Melissa begins to tell me about the trial. Ticilimumab is a monoclonal antibody manufactured by Pfizer. It is a special manufactured antibody, much like antibodies that are usually made by the human body to fight off infection. It is not known why the human body does not “fight off” a cancerous tumor. The idea behind developing this experimental drug is that stimulating the immune system could be a different way of killing cancer cells.
The Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Antigen 4 is a protein found on cells in the immune system. CTLA4 seems to slow down the immune response, so blocking it with anti-CTLA4 antibody may make the immune system response more active.
The purpose of this study is to see if ticilimumab stops the growth and spread of my melanoma or shrink the tumor lesions.
Now onto the side effects: Fatigue, skin pigmentation, skin problems, edema, abnormal thyroid function, headache, nausea, vomiting, myalgia (muscle aches), hot flashes, fever,Loss of appetite, chills, dyspnea (shortness of breath), sore throat, swollen glands
I am voting for hot flashes. Only time will tell.Anyway, Dr. Kirkwood comes in and asks, “Do you have any questions?” My mind is now on overload and I reply, “What if CTLA-4 doesn’t work?” Now, do you call this positive thinking? NOooooooooooo! His response, “We have other options that we can explore.” At the time, it seemed a little vague to me. I must have caught him off guard. Hey, I wanted to have a backup plan in place if need be. I want those ducks lined up.
So Dr. Kirkwood leaves the room and Melissa escorts me down the hall to a small room with a round table in it. She says, “Heather will come in with the paperwork for you to sign.” So I am waiting and waiting and waiting. It is now 1:30 pm and I am starving. So what do I do, I pull out my lunch which consists of a roast beef sandwich, chips, a can of pop and a delicious homemade blueberry muffin which is now totally defrosted. So I ate my lunch waiting for Heather. I never skipped a beat. By the time she arrived there was no evidence that I had lunch except for the empty pop can in the garbage. She never knew.
Finally, Heather arrives. She tells me to read over the trial and initial each page. There was also a consent form at the back of each section that I was to sign and date. The trial was 27 pages long, so she stepped out to help another patient with their trial. Heather was being pulled in four different directions. I cannot start the new trial until 4 weeks from the last patrin dose which was August 10th. By the time we went over the logistics of the trial it was approaching 3:00 pm. I had one more thing to do. Cancel my stay at the Shadyside Family House. I refer to it as the Half-way house because I forget the name all the time. (check out the photo)
The Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Antigen 4 is a protein found on cells in the immune system. CTLA4 seems to slow down the immune response, so blocking it with anti-CTLA4 antibody may make the immune system response more active.
The purpose of this study is to see if ticilimumab stops the growth and spread of my melanoma or shrink the tumor lesions.
Now onto the side effects: Fatigue, skin pigmentation, skin problems, edema, abnormal thyroid function, headache, nausea, vomiting, myalgia (muscle aches), hot flashes, fever,Loss of appetite, chills, dyspnea (shortness of breath), sore throat, swollen glands
I am voting for hot flashes. Only time will tell.Anyway, Dr. Kirkwood comes in and asks, “Do you have any questions?” My mind is now on overload and I reply, “What if CTLA-4 doesn’t work?” Now, do you call this positive thinking? NOooooooooooo! His response, “We have other options that we can explore.” At the time, it seemed a little vague to me. I must have caught him off guard. Hey, I wanted to have a backup plan in place if need be. I want those ducks lined up.
So Dr. Kirkwood leaves the room and Melissa escorts me down the hall to a small room with a round table in it. She says, “Heather will come in with the paperwork for you to sign.” So I am waiting and waiting and waiting. It is now 1:30 pm and I am starving. So what do I do, I pull out my lunch which consists of a roast beef sandwich, chips, a can of pop and a delicious homemade blueberry muffin which is now totally defrosted. So I ate my lunch waiting for Heather. I never skipped a beat. By the time she arrived there was no evidence that I had lunch except for the empty pop can in the garbage. She never knew.
Finally, Heather arrives. She tells me to read over the trial and initial each page. There was also a consent form at the back of each section that I was to sign and date. The trial was 27 pages long, so she stepped out to help another patient with their trial. Heather was being pulled in four different directions. I cannot start the new trial until 4 weeks from the last patrin dose which was August 10th. By the time we went over the logistics of the trial it was approaching 3:00 pm. I had one more thing to do. Cancel my stay at the Shadyside Family House. I refer to it as the Half-way house because I forget the name all the time. (check out the photo)
This is not, I repeat, not the Shadyside Family House, but good for a laugh.
I was on the road by 3:30 pm and arrived back in Rochester at 8:00 pm. My best time ever. Traffic was on my side again.
I was on the road by 3:30 pm and arrived back in Rochester at 8:00 pm. My best time ever. Traffic was on my side again.
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