End of summer

The most perfect summer ever continues. Each day dawns clear and warm. There is rain in the forecast for the end of the week so we shall see if summer can make a final comeback after that!

I have done the medical rounds once again in preparation for diagnostics of spine and liver later this month. I have done everything in my power to access nivolumab as soon as the Extended Access Program rolls out at Lion's Gate Hospital in North Vancouver. Dr. Sasha was able to confirm last week that he will be the first to start and I hope I will be at the front of his line!

October will be a month of reckoning for me. It will become clear how well my body is doing at keeping my implacable enemy at bay and I will have the genome study available in the hope that therapeutic targets can be identified.

I am going through a period of feeling really well physically, being able to exercise and enjoying life. I mean that in a deep, not a trite, way. What a privilege it is for me to have become human and to fall in love with the world in all its complexity. If only we could become more familiar every day with the mystery that envelops us. It is so easy and commonplace to be unaware. So often, we see older people completely wrapped up in their diminishing enjoyment of life. We have to see through the mirage and savour the magic of what it means to be alive. Old age is a recently acquired privilege for humans. It's our opportunity to examine more deeply and see more clearly.

Peace and love to all.  Nigel

Second try

As we headed out of town on Tuesday to celebrate Louise's 65th birthday at a lovely resort north of Nanaimo, I got a call asking me to report to Vancouver General Hospital at 7.30 the following morning! Louise is very good about accepting these fluctuations in fortune so we drove straight to the ferry instead of a resort. I showed up on schedule for the biopsy and was a little nervous as this time the approach to tumours was to be through my back muscles! I need not have worried. I am accustomed by now to intravenous lines, injection of dyes, controlled breathing in the CT scanner, sedation, etc. The surgeon had extraordinary skills and was done his work in a jiffy. I had to rest for a while to make sure there was no excessive bleeding and then Louise drove us all the way home again! My orders are to rest for two days but that will be difficult as I feel terrific and the weather is perfect. Hopefully, we have harvested many active cancer cells this time and the Personalized Oncogenetics study can go ahead. I should hear soon if the sample was successful.  Peace and love to all as this endless summer unfolds, Nigel

Setback

Last night, I learned that my recent tumour biopsy did not provide enough cancer cells for the genetic testing to be carried out. Most of the harvested cells were dead. There is good news hidden in there too!  So, I have indicated that I would like to move on to a second biopsy at the earliest opportunity. As soon as arrangements are in place, I will post again. In the meantime, I am keeping well and active. The biopsy did trigger a period of pain for two weeks but that is over now and I am back to normal.  Our summer continues perfect every day.  Peace and love, Nigel

Summer Progress

 

Isn't summer grand? Every morning dawns bright and warm. The world is awash with growth and colour! The bounty of the earth is evident everywhere!

Yesterday I signed the consent form for a full genetic profile of my DNA, both from blood and from a tumour. I will soon know what has gone wrong in the delicate workings of the body and also whether there are any treatments currently available to target that weakness. I did not think I could get to this stage on home turf. I am lucky that funding has recently become available for this effort at the Genome Sciences Centre in Vancouver.  Within the next two weeks, I will have a biopsy of tumour tissue and a blood draw done on the same day. There will then be a 6 to 8 week wait for results.

On the treatment front, there has been no change since my last blog. It's not so easy to access treatment of any sort. The struggle continues of course and I never lose hope. I am still trying to get radiation and also a new immunotherapy called PD1.

The good news is that I feel really well and am thoroughly enjoying a perfect summer here in Victoria! May it be the same for all of my friends and family!  Peace and love, Nigel