Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there. Below is my favorite photo of my stepfather, the man who raised me. He is at the wheel of his 1951 Riley, a car from England noted for its style, sportiness, and unreliability. It was my dad’s second love, my mom being his first.

Things are pretty much status quo here in the desert. My pulmonologist is gone this month, I have a followup appointment from my mid-May bronchoscopy with him on July 10. Hopefully he will have some tricks to curb my annoying cough, he was certain he would, but needed to wait for some cultures that take over a month. I had my third Opdivo infusion on Tuesday and things went very smoothly. Other than that I’m not having any bad side effects. We still have no idea as to whether this drug combo is actually working or not. That will change next week. I have a CT scan on Monday and next Friday we have a meeting with Dr. M to review the scan.

During the Opdivo infusion we could take breaks to enjoy their gardens.

My gut feeling is that the trial is not working for me. The vast majority of Phase I trails fail. Of course, I understand that my “gut feeling” is nothing more than my anxiety mixed with impatience. At my monthly meeting with my regular oncologist Dr. P, I shared my concerns and asked his opinion if this trial fails should I find another trial? He was unequivocal that I should pursue another trial, as I am in good shape. In the past we have discussed all options in my treatment. He is a proponent that early hospice will extend life rather than fighting to the end, so I value his enthusiastic opinion I should do another trial if this one isn’t working.

My plan is to select several trials and, should Dr. M determine that this trial is not working, get his input on these other trials. There are currently a whopping 765 trials featuring immunotherapy, quite a few to sort through. Some of these trials will have over 100 trial locations scattered all over the globe, while others will only have a few locations.  My current trial has only 5 locations, all in the U.S.

So let the sorting begin. If I restrict the trials only to Arizona there are 30. However, many trials will not accept a patient who has previously been treated with immunotherapy, and that be me. Applying that filter, the number of available trials is only 12, one in Tucson and the rest in the Phoenix area.  

Hmmm, perhaps I’m thinking too small. Perhaps I should search globally. There are a lot of trials in Barcelona. I’ve never  been there. We would have to rent a place near the trial location for six months. We would also have to budget in trips to all the various wine regions, maybe include France and Italy. It would be expensive. I suggested a “Go Fund Me” to Lee. She was less than enthusiastic. Oh well, Scottsdale is nice.

I am looking forward to next Friday. Jimmy no like limbo land. It will be good to move forward. It will also be good to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. It was actually May 23rd, but that was an all day infusion day for us. So we have our meeting with Dr. M late Friday afternoon, then we immediately depart to Hacienda Del Sol, a resort nestled up against the Catalina moutain range for a night of luxury.  

Live life to its fullest!