First in Man

"First in man" is the term for it has never been tried in a human before. Looks like I will be the first man in this "first in man" trial of a cMet Inhibitor drug. I guess that means it made it past mice then monkeys and now Bill G. I go in tomorrow to sign consent form, blood work and CT scan. Barring any glitch I will get first infusion on Tuesday and every 21 days after. The infusion is sitting in a chair for just over an hour with the drug draining into my arm.

Since May 12 I have been on an intervention drug for only 6 weeks. That was Torisel which had intolerable side effects. The most recent scans were 3 months ago. My thoughts and feelings swing from anxious "oh no it's growing fast" to trusting the God of my understanding. The committee in between my ears yells that I am a very poor cancer patient not doing enough to fight my cancer. My heart says I am doing this the best way for my body and spirit.

Being off any chemo for the past weeks has given me a chance to notice that some of my body signals are not side effects of some drug. Rather they are symptoms of the disease. My breathing is a bit more difficult and I can feel a particular pain in left lung where one of the larger nodules must be. My hips and lower back ache some every day. Not sharp pain, just a dull hurt that wakes me at night. I find Aleve helps some but must be augmented with Tylenol. More than any other symptom, I just plain run out of energy. Some days are better and I get errands and yardwork done. Other days are mostly lounging and napping.

Way back in April 2009 my Oncologist told us there is no cure but that a couple drugs might slow the growth. At that time we picked Tarceva, the drug that indeed kept the growth slow for two years but then the growth spiked. In '09 he also said a newer drug may be coming down the pike, and he explained cMet inhibitor. I did not understand his explanation, but I do know that a cMet trial is at my front door. Cross our community fingers.

A friend of ours recently had to move out of her house and into a roommate situation, no longer able to have her 2 year old Boxer with her. So, I have been dog-sitting. The evening I succumbed to the decision to take him in, I decided to jump right in. I sat in my spot on the couch and got him right up beside me. Within 3 days, he ruled our sectional. Had to do a little retro training on that but he catches on quickly. Sit, lay down, speak and now roll over are in his repertoire and now we work on walk, stay and heel. No crotch sniffing, jumping on, licking nor whimpering for food that we eat. I wonder what he does when I am not looking?

Taking "Tanner" to the dog park is a real joy. For those of you who live in more spacious areas than the city, a dog park is an enclosed field where dogs can run freely. Tanner is learning how to play. I assumed lifting his leg to pee was an innate trait of all male dogs. Not Tanner, but I think even that he is learning at the dog park. The first couple trips a chihuahua chased him off. His big ears flapping at full run as the small dog nipped was pretty hilarious. Thankfully each trip his confidence grows. Okay, okay, so I admit it. The dog is good for me. Bill