I had two meetings this week with CLL experts. Turns out the remission was neither as robust nor as longlasting as I had hoped. I had what's called a "partial response" to the clinical trial (which is better than adverse reactions or "no response") but is a bit disappointing.
I'm really not experiencing significant symptoms beyond some lymph node enlargement which is unfortunate because my work is requiring me to do a bit of on-camera work (whine, whine, whine).
Another change is that I'm becoming a "City of Hope guy" rather than a "Moores Cancer Center (UCSD) guy". UCSD does a great job; I'm opting for COH due mainly to the logistics (COH is an hour closer to my home). Both facilities have renowned CLL experts.
My wife and I are attending a workshop Saturday which is likely very relevant to whatever clinical trail I end up utilizing.
The most likely option at this point appears to be a randomized trial comparing Ibrutinib (an approved drug for CLL) with ABT-199. ABT-199 has shown great promise but is only in a Phase III trial. Being who I a am, I'd prefer the newer drug but the trial is randomized so if I enroll in that trial, I need to be okay with whatever assignment I get.
Expect another post around 12/12 (the day of the workshop) if I don't get lazy. Thanks for all the interest in my CLL adventure.
By the way, the bottom line is that this continues to be a "chronic" disease which suggests I may have a good while left and it is very cool that I have access to the best of the best in terms of research and clinical quality professionals.
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