More tests and nearly there ...

We are well into the appointments and days away from the start of the treatment and it can’t start soon enough! Joseph’s right kidney, isn’t working (hasn’t been for a while) and is causing him grief so he’s upped the OxyContin and counting the hours until Monday.

Today was two scans that required die to be injected -  one of them was a scan of the blood!? (with radio-active dye) - but it seems that the jumping on and off the high tables caused more grief than the needles!!   Yesterday was more blood and another ECG (not sure what they think has changed since their last one a week ago?!) but we won’t complain because Renee tell us we are definitely IN!!  We ask about the results of the biopsy - isn’t there a requirement for the appearance of the protein?

Well not according to Renee - she tell us that it doesn’t matter what the biopsy shows in the US that was just so they know how it all looks - a baseline reading of sorts. Huh?   We explain to her that wasn’t what we were told by Carol (who was filling in for Mel who has since been replaced by Renee and we never did meet).  Carol, who clipped, clopped around in heels (urgh!) told us “oh no you are not necessarily IN - it will all depend on the results of the biopsy test by head office, as to whether you are approved”! Dear me!!  We explain to Renee the agony that the waiting and wondering has caused us and I’m still not sure she understood.  

So far joseph is the only person in adelaide on this trial.  It has a crazy set of requirements - on one hand they need somebody in fairly good health (heart, blood pressure etc.) and on the other hand somebody quite sick with cancer ... that has spread.  So “lucky” is Jospeh to tick off all of those boxes and hence our eagerness to get started.  Joseph says he can’t believe how much he is looking forward to something so horrible.

Pablo did a great job of explaining how the immunotherapy will work and I really did understand what he was saying ... but of course I can’t remember.  BUT - I’ll get him to explain it again and include it in here because apart from how much faith we are investing in it - it is also quite fascinating.

So just one more weekend ...