Vemurafenib

The first part of my clinical trial is for me to take a drug called vemurafenib. Quite a mouthful (literally, as you'll see later). Doctors have usually referred to it just as Vem to make it easier on the ears, and I merely adopted the syntax. The brand name of the drug is called Zelboraf and is how it is labeled for sale. I want to tell you a bit more about what I'm taking.

Day 1

Well, that was unexpected. Monday we received a call that we were all clear to start and penciled in the schedule for today. A full biopsy report won't be available until later this week, but during the procedure last Friday they pulled in a pathologist to "eyeball" the samples to get clearance for the go ahead. Even though it is ultimately "bad" news, it wasn't entirely unexpected. More of a relief than anything else, just being able to finally know 100% what we are dealing with.

So yeah.... today is Day 1. As of right now I've taken my first dose.

Quick Biopsy Update

Just wanted to drop some news for anyone following. My biopsy procedure went off without a hitch. While the day was long and tiring, everything worked out without complications. I need to take it easy over the next couple days and expect to be a tad sore, but otherwise no pain. We won't actually have the results until sometime next week and (with the assumption the tissue shows melanoma), start treatment the first week of July.

Now what?

It has been a little over two months since I received the news. Since this time frame is a bit easier to recollect, let me break down everything in a more concise format.

Metastatic

Most people know how deadly cancer can be, given the large emphasis we put on it in today's society. Cancer grows and spreads, like an internal plague that eventually kills off good cells and replaces them with the nasty ones. If found in time, the cancer (in a tumorous state) can be removed before it has a chance to spread and do long term damage. Unfortunately, there are times when the cancer displaces cells to other areas of the body. They often travel through the lymphatic system or through blood vessels.

Treatment

After my first surgery I was given an option to start a treatment which would help prevent recurrence. Given my situation and outlook, we decided against it and worked more on maintaining a good level of health. It was my choice, which my doctors more or less agreed with me on. They could have gone one way or the other, because I was right on the border. After the cancer returned, they were a bit more adamant about my treatment options.

Recurrence

As I mentioned in my previous post, cancer an be a tricky bugger. My original surgery was in June of 2011 and everything came back positively enough, that myself and my wife were able to breathe a sigh of relief and hopefully put this all behind us and continue with our lives. As the oncologist explained to us, there was a chance of the cancer returning, but the odds were still good and in our favor. We chose to take the preventative maintenance route by watching my skin and getting routine testing done.

How Cancer Works

After my surgery, I needed to do a bit more research about melanoma and cancer in general. I knew there was always the possibility of it coming back, but I wanted to find pure facts that I might use specifically for myself; something that fit my criteria. For most people that have never had to deal with cancer, whether it was a self battle or helping a loved one, there are some misconceptions about how cancer acts once you've been diagnosed. Instead of bombarding you with another wall of text scrambled with medical jargon, I will leave this xkcd comic, which succinctly illustrates what you really go through.

The First Surgery

Let me start out by saying that at the moment of my cancer discovery, I was 32 years old. In those 32 years, I've been in relatively good health (my small bout of pneumonia and my stomach issues notwithstanding) and have really never needed to go to the hospital for anything major. Well, this was all about the change.

The Beginning

"You have cancer".

These were not the exact words that came out of his mouth, but those are the words that I chose to hear. It is something you hope you never have to hear, either coming from a physician or a loved one. It changes your life forever, whether the end result is good or bad.

Wait. This is not the best place to start. Let me go back a bit and give a bit of history leading up to this point.

Introduction

This blog is being used to document the process that I have been dealing with on my battle with skin cancer. Currently in my 3rd year of battling this deadly disease, I felt it was time to share my stories with the rest of the world. Whether you are fighting along side me or just along for the ride, I certainly hope you can find trickles of inspiration in my writing.

If this is your first time visiting my page, please click the About Me link in the menu bar at the top to find out a little bit more about my life.