Starting treatment

I'll be starting treatment in 2 weeks . . . I finally decided on taking chemo (bendamustine) alone rather than joining the clinical trial. There were many reasons why I decided to go with chemo alone, but mostly because it just feels like the right decision for me. I will have a total of 6 treatments over the next 6 months.

The idea of taking a chemo drug again definitely makes me nervous and all the old emotions and memories from the 1st time I had chemo keep popping up. But according to my oncologist and everything I've read, bendamustine is supposed to be very well tolerated with minimal nausea and no hair loss - I even got my hair did today (thanks Marcille and Diane - you guys rock!!)

So I keep hoping for the best and waiting for the next 6 months to begin. I'm a bit scared to start my new path, but feel confident that I'll be in remission again because bendamustine has a very high response rate :) Go Bendamustine!

As a side note, did you know that bendamustine is actually an old chemo drug? It was developed over 40 years ago in East Germany, but it didn't have much cred here in the States until very recently. In fact it was only approved by the FDA for my type of cancer 2 short years ago. But recent studies have shown that it has an extremely high response rate with minimal side effects. Who would have thought that a near perfect chemo drug would have been invented so many decades ago from behind the Iron Curtain? I guess it's just a reminder to keep our minds open as to where the next great treatment drug will come from . . .

Good news!! Biopsy results . . .

I finally received my biopsy results yesterday and I got the best news possible - my follicular lymphoma has not transformed into a more aggressive type of lymphoma!!!! My family, Michelle and I were all very relieved to get this news :) Transformation into a more aggressive lymphoma has a terrible prognosis, so the news was very reassuring that I'm not going anywhere any time soon.

My oncologist does want me to undergo chemotherapy, however. While it's good news that my lymphoma has not transformed, my onc stated that we still need to get my disease under control. He recommended 2 treatment options. One treatment option is a chemo drug called Bendamustine (also known as Treanda). The chemo would last 6 months, but it is very well tolerated and I most likely would not lose my hair :) I know I shouldn't care so much about whether or not I lose my hair, but when you lose your hair it's like you lose all semblance of normalcy and every time you look in the mirror you see a sick person. So keeping my hair does, in a weird way, make me feel better.

The other treatment option is a clinical trial involving Bendamustine and a new drug called Ofatumumab (I know a mouthful, right?!) Let's call it O-mab for short. O-mab is like Rituxan in that it is a monoclonal antibody designed to only kill the cells in my body that cause cancer. Unlike Rituxan, it is an all human drug (Rituxan has mouse in it). The clinical trial is designed to see if adding O-mab to Bendamustine is beneficial to treating follicular lymphoma.

I have to admit that choosing between the 2 treatment options is proving to be harder than I anticipated. If I choose to go with the clinical trial I will have to get a few more tests done - one is a bone marrow biopsy. The thought of having another bone marrow biopsy is not very appealing in that the 1st one I had was very painful. But I know I shouldn't make the treatment decision based on that factor alone.

So that's where I am right now - deciding between treatment options. If I go with Bendamustine alone, I will probably start chemo this week. If I go with the clinical trial, I'll most likely have the bone marrow biopsy later in the week.

I'll keep you updated . . .

Thanks again to my very kind and loving support network - your thoughts, well wishes, kind words, love and support make all the difference!!

Love,
Ness