October 12, 2016
Today is the first day of what will be my new life. I am going to start my treatments which hopefully will run for a long time. Here are my hopes:
- The Xalkori is effective for me. It is for around 80 to 85% of ALK patients.
- The Xalkori is effective for a long time. The longest my doctor has seen is 4 years (I'd take that in a heartbeat, but half that long would still be good)
- The Xalkori doesn't have significant side effects
- That my liver handles the metabolism of the drug well
- That I'm capable of taking the Xalkori (no reactions)
I think that pretty much covers it. This is a crucial day for me. If I struggle or have a reaction to the drug then the benefits of targeted treatment will be lost and I'll probably end up in standard chemotherapy, which will shorten my life expectancy significantly.
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