What's in a name?
You could say it was obvious that Dr Savage was going to be less chirpy than Father Christmas. In the roller coaster that is cancer treatment, we had a sobering morning after our optimistic start to the week.
Dr Savage is one of the specialist oncologists (Cancer Specialist). He wasn't savage - he was very nice - but a few hard facts hit home for Quentin this morning. The situation in general is as follows:
He confirmed that the speckles are very small and there is a possibility that they may not be deposits, but said we have to assume they are, at this stage.
Which therapy to go for.
Immunotherapy is not offered to all patients as it doesn't have a great success rate. Only 15% of those treated get a real benefit. In a few cases the cancer reduced considerably or seemed to disappear, but generally the benefit is a question of extending life.
Quentin will be offered immunotherapy. He is young, does not have detectable deposits in his bones or brain and those in his lungs are small. This makes him a good profile for the treatment.
Serafanib has a greater success rate. 50% of those treated see a benefit, but the benefit is not as great as with immunotherapy. (Although the drug has only been licensed for 6 months, they know this from the trials they have done over the last 5 years).
The other drugs / vaccines are not licensed yet. Dr Savage's view was that they often sound miraculous at the very early stages of trials, but rarely does the news remain as positive as they move through years of testing towards being a licensed drug. Trovax etc are many steps down the line.
Dr Savage's recommendation was to try immunotherapy first and then to move onto serafanib. Hopefully this will be a couple of years - or even more - down the line ... by which time, who knows what the kidney cancer landscape will look like. He did stress that if Quent had been diagnosed 5 years ago, there was only immunotherapy, whereas now they have two therapies they have confidence in, so it is definitely good we are in 2006.
What is entailed?
Firstly we monitor the speckles. They can only do CT scans every few months (because of the radiation) and in between they do chest x-rays, which are not as accurate, but would pick up any major changes. Quent had a chest x-ray today and will probably have another CT scan in December.
We start immunotherapy if the speckles change or if Quent becomes unwell (tiredness, pain, coughing, shortness of breath).
The treatment involves injections under the skin of a combination of interleuken, interferon and 5FU. Much of the treatment can be done at home but some has to be supervised in hospital because of side effects (tiredness, feeling very hot, swelling in feet).
What can we do?
Stay healthy, confident and happy. Be optimistic that after treatment the cancer will behave like a chronic illness which can be controlled.
Next Friday, we see Professor Gore for his take. If his name is anything to go by, I will probably faint in that consultation!
Dr Savage is one of the specialist oncologists (Cancer Specialist). He wasn't savage - he was very nice - but a few hard facts hit home for Quentin this morning. The situation in general is as follows:
- There is no cure for kidney cancer. This is "a very serious illness".
- Chemotherapy and radiotherapy do not work for kidney cancer.
- Immunotherapy is the "standard" treatment, albeit with a low success rate.
- There is now one other "text book" treatment called serafanib which they feel optimistic about.
- There are some other experimental treatments (including the vaccine we read about yesterday)
- The treatment will aim to keep the illness under control for a "good number of years" but that cannot be guaranteed.
He confirmed that the speckles are very small and there is a possibility that they may not be deposits, but said we have to assume they are, at this stage.
Which therapy to go for.
Immunotherapy is not offered to all patients as it doesn't have a great success rate. Only 15% of those treated get a real benefit. In a few cases the cancer reduced considerably or seemed to disappear, but generally the benefit is a question of extending life.
Quentin will be offered immunotherapy. He is young, does not have detectable deposits in his bones or brain and those in his lungs are small. This makes him a good profile for the treatment.
Serafanib has a greater success rate. 50% of those treated see a benefit, but the benefit is not as great as with immunotherapy. (Although the drug has only been licensed for 6 months, they know this from the trials they have done over the last 5 years).
The other drugs / vaccines are not licensed yet. Dr Savage's view was that they often sound miraculous at the very early stages of trials, but rarely does the news remain as positive as they move through years of testing towards being a licensed drug. Trovax etc are many steps down the line.
Dr Savage's recommendation was to try immunotherapy first and then to move onto serafanib. Hopefully this will be a couple of years - or even more - down the line ... by which time, who knows what the kidney cancer landscape will look like. He did stress that if Quent had been diagnosed 5 years ago, there was only immunotherapy, whereas now they have two therapies they have confidence in, so it is definitely good we are in 2006.
What is entailed?
Firstly we monitor the speckles. They can only do CT scans every few months (because of the radiation) and in between they do chest x-rays, which are not as accurate, but would pick up any major changes. Quent had a chest x-ray today and will probably have another CT scan in December.
We start immunotherapy if the speckles change or if Quent becomes unwell (tiredness, pain, coughing, shortness of breath).
The treatment involves injections under the skin of a combination of interleuken, interferon and 5FU. Much of the treatment can be done at home but some has to be supervised in hospital because of side effects (tiredness, feeling very hot, swelling in feet).
What can we do?
Stay healthy, confident and happy. Be optimistic that after treatment the cancer will behave like a chronic illness which can be controlled.
Next Friday, we see Professor Gore for his take. If his name is anything to go by, I will probably faint in that consultation!
posted by Helen at 11/14/2006 12:50:00 pm
5 Comments:
Hi Helen and Quent,
Its Simon Bennett.
Its hard to find words, but i will try. I know its sounds a little crazy but I have just finished reading "Moondust" a book about the Astronauts that went to the moon. There is a chapter which discusses on of these nauts who had incureable cancer and should have died. He was healed by faith healers and the doctors have no explanation. There is always hope. Also if your looking for a little inspiration you could try Lance Armstrongs first book.
Thinking about you all and wishing you well.
Simon. x
At least Quentin will never get bored,
Now he's had his intestine explored.
His kidney's been ravaged;
Today he's been Savaged,
And we hear that he'll shortly be Gored.
Keep smiling - you can beat it.
Hi both,
Hotcake here. I read your updates with trepidation, but on reflection, think there are actually a lot of positives in a weird sort of way - though it must have been a pretty stressful week for you both. OK, it's a bastard situation in the first place, but the fact that it's 'years not months', that there are treatments, that in time more treatments will emerge and that they have acted to quickly to head the main cancer off at the pass is all good stuff. I'm also with Simon Bennett - strange and wonderful things sometimes happen without explanation. I shall full steam ahead chasing Nina for supplement advice. And know that you will continue sharing laughs and lots of love (the best medicines). I shall be in touch with Helen 'The Feeder' Webb soon.Meanwhile Quent, 'Carry on Convalescing' and hope they send some nice nurses your way (though I figure you already have the best one full time)xxx
I was reading in New Scientist today (yes, I like to pretend I'm clever sometimes) about 'nominative determinism', where people gravitate towards a profession which relates to their name. Reading about Savage and Gore in the medical profession is a perfect example. Some other quoted examples:
- a book entitled Pole Positions:The Polar Regions And The Future Of The Planet, by Daniel Snowman
- London Under London:A Subterranean Guide by Richard Trench
- An article on incontinence in The British Journal Of Urology by J. Splatt and D. Weedon
- and finally, a guy in the Australian outback responsible for controlling the rabbit population called Warren Breeding
Hi all
We could not believe our ears when we heard of your cancer, mindblowing,
I know if the old Quent is anything to go by you are staying positive.
I am in touch with Glenn and he was as stunned and upset as we were, (yes Carol has now forgiven you for the fireworks in the church.)
I wont prattle on too much now but look forward to reading about your progress on the website and will stay in contact.
I will send you an e-mail with contact details, it never hurts to have another friend
Cheers mate and good luck to all of you
Andy M
Post a Comment
<< Home