Miss Spelt

Received the info re the drug trial. Turns out I spelt the name of one drug incorrectly. It's really Foretinib. Here's what the background sheet tells me:

Foretinib is a new type of drug that slows or stops the growth of new blood vessels in animal studies and it also directly affects cancer cell growth by blocking the action of a specific protein called c-Met. These effects may prevent or slow the growth of your cancer. Foretinib has been tested in some subjects with different types of cancers and some have benefited from this treatment, but it has not yet been studied in breast cancer. The doese and side effects of Foretinib when used alone are known. Foretinib is an investigational drug that has not yet been approved by Health Canada, although it ahs been approved for use in this clinical trial.


Lapatinib is a drug that works by "turning off" the HER2 receptor, a protein which causes breast cancers to grow and spread. Lapatinib has been studied in clinical trials before, and has been approved by Health Canada for use in HER2 positive breast cancer. Its use together with Foretinib is investigational, although it has been approved for use in this clinical trial.


It is not clear whether taking drugs such as Foretinib with Lapatinib will be better than taking Lapatinib alone. This clinical trial is the first time Foretinib and Lapatinib will be given together. Lapatinib given alone in your situation in clincial trials would suggest the chance of controlling the growth of your cancer of approximately 12%. Currently Lapatinib is not approved by Health Canada to be given alone in this scenario.

Hope this helps answer some of the questions folks are asking me.

On Trial

Got the CT scan results today. Not the results I had hoped for, mind. Seems my ongoing cough has been due to some new lesions on my lungs. No surprise really in that the depth of the cough and its association with lying down or bending over are so similar to the cough I had back in February. So, today was my last chemo day. At least for now. Spoke to my oncologist today and she is recommending a change in treatment since the Herceptin is no longer doing its job, likely due to my system developing a resistance to it or something like that. I will be taking part in a clinical trial of a drug combo that might get me back on track. The main drug, Lapatinib, works very much like the Herceptin. This will be paired with another drug called Feretanin (or something like that, can't find the proper spelling just now) which will attack from another pathway. Both are oral medications. (I will be keeping the port-a-cath for now, in case it is needed down the road, ie if we have to turn to Plan C.) Since this will be part of a clinical trial, I will have to go to the Cancer Agency in Vancouver to get the drug. My understanding is that I will take the drugs daily for a month (length of each cycle) but will only need to go to the Agency four times in the first month. Will only have to go in twice each month (each subsequent cycle is also a month long) after that. I don't have a start date as of yet. Need to have a few more tests before things can get rolling. Thank goodness I've recently had a CT scan. Will be having an echo-cardiogram in a couple weeks. Will also need a bone scan and a MUGA (heart scan). The other requirement is that my last chemo has to be at least 21 days prior to the start of the trial. So we're looking at mid-November to at the earliest as a start date. As far as I know, the only nasty side effects of the Lapatinib are diarrhea and a slim chance of toxic hepatitis. The Feretanin or whatever its called can cause high blood pressure. I'm sure I'll learn more of the good, bad, and ugly aspects of both drugs once I get all the info that is being sent along with the consent form that the study nurse is mailing. Quite bummed about not seeing the ACU team at St Mary's on a weekly basis. Also bummed that the current drug cocktail isn't working its magic quite as well as we had all hoped. At least there is an alternative treatment. And if this doesn't work, there are others we can try. So things could be much, much worse.

This drug trial thing had me wondering about what other trial offers might be available should I wish to check them out. I did a Google search of "trial offer". Interesting to find that I can get a sample of True Lemon, a lemon juice substitute (I assume they don't mean lime juice) but can't try Your Life Multi Adult Gummies, a "multivitamin speciality formula with fiber" because it is only available to US residents "whilst stocks last". The name of the product alone has me thinking myself lucky to be living north of the 49th. Interesting that Guerlain's Orchidée Impériale, an anti-aging product, is only available to Canadians. (What good is longer life if I can't improve my health with fibre-loaded multivitamins, I ask you?) Another post tells me that I can obtain a Vegetarian Starter Kit if only I would complete a form using all caps (which the post informs me = uppercase lettering - hope the kit is as informative as the post). Apparently Christina Aquilera's marriage isn't the only thing in trouble; she's giving away samples of her Royal Desire fragrance to UK residents only. If that doesn't get my olfactory lob tingling at just the right tempo, I can click onto another site offering such weird fragrances as boiled crawfish, money, or pumpkin spice. Some of the other strange things one can obtain trial offers/free samples of include e-cigarettes and Jewish Outreach Magnetic Poetry. Given the competition, I think I'm about to receive the best trial offer of all!

Scanned as Planned

Yesterday was CT scan day for me, and it turned into a rather long day. I arrived at St Mary's Hospital at 7:30am as instructed, only to find the CT Scan dept didn't open until 8am. No problemo, I brought a book. When the front desk was up and running, I was told to go to the ACU (where I have my weekly chemo treatments) to be "hydrated" before receiving the scan. My usual cheerful team was in attendance, so it didn't take long to have the port accessed and the necessary fluid coursing through my veins. I wondered aloud at the need for hydration as I had two previous scans without a similar prep. Turns out my latest blood test showed my GFR (glomerular filtration rate - the best indication of kidney function) was low so the extra fluid was needed to protect my kidneys against any nasty affects from the contrast dye used during the scan. Apparently some patients (in an effort to avoid the need for several hours of being hooked up to an IV before and after the scan) drink lots of water just prior to blood tests. Not sure whether that would give an accurate reading, so am kinda glad I had the IV treatment after all. Besides, it gave me time to finish up a book - A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman.

A couple of hours later, I was ready for my scan so headed back downstairs to the appropriate department. The tech expressed dismay at the sight of the port line and ordered me back upstairs to have an IV line inserted into my arm. Apparently the can't inject the dye via a port. The only vein willing to put out the effort was the same one on the inside of my right elbow that offers up a blood sample for my weekly chemo prep. So, picture it, there I was walking back down to the scanning department with a line hanging from my port (in readiness for the post-scan hydration and the chemo treatment that would follow) and another from the inside of my right elbow. Must have been quite the sight. En route I passed a group of new volunteers taking part in an orientation session. One volunteer, after recovering from the shock of seeing someone walking about with IV lines hanging from her body, asked if I was escaping. I responded by winking and putting an index finger to my lips which caused a couple of the other volunteers to laugh.

The scan itself went on without a hitch. Had the same "hot flash" feeling that I had during the previous scans - a very common thing. Did learn there is no infection in my chest - a relief given the amount of coughing I've been doing lately. Will have to wait until next week before I have any further results. Am pretty confident (me says with fingers crossed) that what ails me is only a virus.

After the scan, I headed back to the ACU for post-scan hydration and my usual weekly chemo. In all, it was an 8hr day. I was pooped. Slept very well last night as a result.

CT scan planned

In my next life, I am destined to become a supermodel. I base this theory on the simple fact that my person has been highly photographed over the last couple of years. I laugh at the thought of Tyra, Giselle, Linda and the rest cozying up so close to Canon and Nikon that every pore of their skin is revealed in all its cavernous glory. Heck, every fractional inch of me - both inside and out - has been under so many lenses of late that I can likely out vogue any so-called supermodel faster than you can say "cover shot" (bonus: images from my photo sessions don't have to undergo the embarrassment of PhotoShop touch-ups). Even so, it seems the health care professionals can't see enough of me. On October 14, I will undergo a day-long session at the CT scanning dept at St Mary's Hospital in Sechelt. I will be checked in at 8am and leave the facility some time around 2 or 2:30pm. Apparently I'll be spending most of the time bonding with Ivy in order to hydrate as much as possible both before and after the scan. Seems this is necessary as the dye is very hard on the kidneys and hydration reduces the chance of injury to those organs. Can only hope there are washroom facilities nearby.