I'm still on the same old chemo for now. It keeps me stable unless I take the prescribed week off so my doctor is keeping me on it until we can figure out what is next without the normal week off.
She is working on getting me a new drug off-trial. Right now this drug is only available on a trial because it is not yet approved by the FDA. What this really means is that my insurance won't pay for it until it is approved. In these cases if a drug is very promising for a stage 4 patient it is possible to ask the drug company to give it to me for nothing for compassionate use. I can't get on the trial because the trial has a rule that you have to wait 12 months after your first line treatment, which for me isn't until January 1st. My doctor met with the drug representative this past Wednesday and they seem to think that we'll be able to get the drug.
This drug works with your DNA and has specifically shown promise with patients who have the BRCA gene. I have BRCA 2. It will be nice to take a pill instead of going in for infusions. It still has some of the same side effects: fatigue and nausea. The type of drug is a PARP inhibitor and the brand name of the drug is Lynparza, generic name is olaparib. We're not sure how long it will take to get the drug so I might be on chemo for a few more weeks, but we won't take any more weeks off. Hopefully my blood numbers stay good enough.
Also, I'm going to be getting another PET/CT scan next week, which will show us how my lymph nodes are doing.
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