I had an appointment with the RAD trial investigating physician yesterday, for the first time in about 18 months. A few potatoes fell off the wagon, so to speak, during this trip to Iowa City. The blood tests have been showing a slightly increasing creatinine count over the last six months which means the kidneys are unhappy. So that means I need to stop taking the RAD for a week or two to allow recovery. Then the restart dosage will be one 5 mg pill every other day, instead of one every day. Dang. Although the immune system had been chugging along consistently at an okay but somewhat reduced level, I didn’t have any notion the kidneys would suffer. The doc didn’t like how my blood sugar was doing either, so the drug I’ve been taking is now doubled. Between the diuretic pill I take for blood pressure and the diarrhea that comes with the disease, I now also need iron and potassium supplements too. Oh well, these are small inconveniences.
Over the 18 months on the RAD drug at one 5mg pill/day, the three liver lesions being watched for the trial study have decreased in size by 50%, 50%, and 21%, and the primary tumor on the pancreas decreased 15% on its largest axis. Not too shabby.
One favorable opinion from the doctor is the octreoscan from last month (no disease spreading found) indicates the somatostatin receptors in the cancerous cells have a high affinity for the octreotide. That means I am a good candidate for PRRT (Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy) – the Yttrium 90 radio-isotope therapy – in Basel, Switzerland. (Dr. O'Dorisio has referred about 150 people like me to Basel over the years, because PRRT isn't offered in the U.S.) High affinity suggests a good outcome -- tumor reduction – with the treatment. We will suck all the usefulness from the RAD drug first, but it’s good to know there is a further treatment alternative somewhere in the future.
Otherwise I’m feeling fine, and getting ready for the 5k walk/run this Saturday.
All the best to each of you,
Terry
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