We got a call today from Christina with the Hoag Center, and unfortunately they were not able to develop a vaccine from the tumor sample we'd gotten from my liver. Fibroblasts(?) apparently made doing so initially difficult and eventually made it impossible.
There could be a possibility of trying to donate another tumor sample, but to do so I believe I understand that I would need to be off chemo for some time. And again, if I understand correctly, this is because the chemo is trying to kill the tumor, and the Hoag study is trying to grow it. So it might remain as a possibility, but for now we'll just ride through the chemo and I'll be hoping that it works as intended and systemically rids me of the cancer that I currently have. If I understand melanoma, though, even that may only be for a certain period of time. So I still have the same options as before (except I already have a hat).
I need to update my calendar with my appointments: I've got a CT, a visit with Dr. Amatruda, and more chemo scheduled for the second week of March. I expect to be discussing the Hoag study results (or lack thereof) with Dr. Amatruda in addition to the results of that scheduled CT. The CT will be an 'after' to compare with the 'before', which will tell us the effect (or lack thereof) that the chemo is having for me.
In the meantime, I have the 'fun' of trying to get my affairs in order. There's a lot of little things to try to write down and plan. I don't try to let it bring me down, though. I have generally remained in good spirits and plan to keep it that way.
There could be a possibility of trying to donate another tumor sample, but to do so I believe I understand that I would need to be off chemo for some time. And again, if I understand correctly, this is because the chemo is trying to kill the tumor, and the Hoag study is trying to grow it. So it might remain as a possibility, but for now we'll just ride through the chemo and I'll be hoping that it works as intended and systemically rids me of the cancer that I currently have. If I understand melanoma, though, even that may only be for a certain period of time. So I still have the same options as before (except I already have a hat).
I need to update my calendar with my appointments: I've got a CT, a visit with Dr. Amatruda, and more chemo scheduled for the second week of March. I expect to be discussing the Hoag study results (or lack thereof) with Dr. Amatruda in addition to the results of that scheduled CT. The CT will be an 'after' to compare with the 'before', which will tell us the effect (or lack thereof) that the chemo is having for me.
In the meantime, I have the 'fun' of trying to get my affairs in order. There's a lot of little things to try to write down and plan. I don't try to let it bring me down, though. I have generally remained in good spirits and plan to keep it that way.
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