CT Scan and Bone Marrow Registry

So, I met with Dr. Reeder and he feels that adding me to a clinical trial is the best thing for me. It would involve me taking a pill once a day and thankfully the pill has very little to no side effects at all. He feels the trial is the best thing because it is so non-intrusive as far as side effects go and because if it doesn't work I still have the option to do conventional chemotherapy... The only thing is my mass needs to be at least 2 cm to do the clinical trial and it's only 1.8 cm right now, so it has to grow before I qualify for the trial. The bigger mass that was there unfortunately was just removed during the biopsy which is why we need this one to grow. Weird I know but that's a qualification of the trial.

So at this point, I will be up here for at least more weeks waiting to do the new CT scan to see if the mass has grown .2 cm. If it is still too small, then I will go home and do another scan every month until it is 2 cm or more. Once it hits 2 cm, they will get me enrolled in the trial and I would start it here and then go home to Hawaii. I would fly back here about once a month for a few days at a time during the first cycle of the trial (2-3 months) to get tested and see the doctors that are running the trail. Once I have completed the first cycle I should be able to remain at home for the remainder of the trial. If my body responds to the trial and/ or chemotherapy I will then be scheduled for an allogenic transplant (meaning they would take someone else's bone marrow this time instead of my own like they did the first time) and with any luck it will take and I will be back in remission for good!

If anyone one is interested in joining the Bone Marrow Donor Registry you can follow this link, http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_in_Person/US_Donor_Centers/dc_list_by_state.pl. and register in your area. It takes only a few minutes and involves completing a registration form and a simple swab of the cheek, that's it! If you aren't a match for me, maybe you will be a match for someone else and you can help save their life... I do know that there will be a Hawaii drive next Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at the Ward Starbucks from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., so go get a cup of coffee and help save someone at the same time. And if you don't like coffee you can always get a $2 taco and a pitcher of beer at Wahoo Taco's next door for their Wahoo Wednesday special ;)