On Saturday night, our family was fortunate to receive two
fabulous guinea pigs from our dear friends who were looking for a good home for
their adorable pets. When they had
put out a call to friends to see if anyone would be interested in adopting
them, I jumped at the chance. We
had been talking about getting an animal partly because I felt that it would
good for the girls to have a pet to help them deal with their feelings around
my health. Ellie wanted a
lizard and she had been pushing me hard, so I am incredibly grateful that this
opportunity came along right in the nick of time.
Since we picked up Sonic and Zorro last night, it has been
remarkable to see how much the girls have fallen in love with them. Ellie has found a whole new level of
calm and both of the girls can’t stop petting their new buddies (those poor
little guys – it’s probably just a tad overwhelming). It has been so therapeutic for the girls. I couldn’t be happier that these loving
animals came into our lives.
Many of you have asked what’s going to be involved with the
study. I met with Dr. Holbrook Kohrt and his team at Stanford on
Thursday to talk about the study and to do some tests. After I jumped up and down hugging each member of the team
(except Holbrook – he really isn’t a hugging sort of guy), they laid out the
plan.
The protocol will involve going to Stanford every 3 weeks
for blood work, an EKG and then an infusion of PDL-1 followed by another
EKG. They do not expect that I’ll
have any side effects (which is amazing).
I’ve gone off of chemo since I have to clear it out of my body before we
begin the study. It is a
phenomenal feeling not to be poisoning my body.
I will begin the study on October 11. At this point, the only thing that
could keep me from being able to participate would be if my next CT scan, set
for October 4, does not show any tumors.
As you all know, I have been on chemo since the most recent onslaught of
cancer was discovered at the beginning of the summer. So – there is a slight possibility that the cancer may not
show up (although we are certain that it is lurking). It’s a surreal experience to hope that my next CT scan shows
a tumor. My new team told me
that one tumor would be enough….so I’m asking you all get back to praying – but
only for one tumor!
When I was at the Stanford Clinical Trial Building last
week, I overheard a man introducing himself to a group and telling them that
his wife was one of the “guinea pigs” being treated there. It occurred to me that I am about to
become one of the Stanford “guinea pigs.”
How ironic that we
are now heading into an era where we have 3 guinea pigs in the family! Talk about strange timing…
As Holbrook was leaving our meeting on Thursday, on his way
out the door, he turned around and said “Eve, we are so glad to have you as
part of the study – not just because you’re PDL-1 positive, but because you are
so positive overall. That bodes
well for how you will do in the study.”
I’ll take that statement over a hug any day….
I can’t wait to begin.