As They Say in Stockholm, Runda Två

There was some discussion that Round 2 of JoAnne's ofatumumab antibody therapy be done in the clinic since it went so well for the first dose. That was a much smaller (.3 liter) volume however, and her doctor is still anxious about side effects. It may also be due to the insurance company. For confusing reasons, they sometimes approve therapy in the hospital and not the clinic, even though the latter requires fewer resources. The staff has never quite been able to figure out why that is. If they can't, there is no chance I will.

We arrived at the hospital a little after 8 AM and infusion began at 5 PM. JoAnne took some Ativan and slept a few hours during the interim. We will have to figure this out for next time. We get admitted and then sit around for several hours (7 today) before anything meaningful happens. It is atypical. Today's infusion will be a liter's worth and will take 6-7 hours if it all goes to plan. The pre-meds include benadryl so JoJo spends a lot of time sleeping. I left her this evening in good care and resting comfortably. Come the morning, she will be ready to come home assuming no incidents. She has been developing graft versus host disease in the form of skin rashes and some upper intestinal upset. This is likely secondary to the discontinuation of the cyclosporine anti-rejection drug. It's all about balance. A little GVH is helpful as it also provides graft versus tumor properties. The donor cells will attack the cancer cells, but the GVH must be kept under control.

Ofatumumab. Weirdly, It conjures up an image of something you would order off the menu in a Moroccan restaurant in Marrakech. It is new to most of the nurses, so watching them try to figure out how to pronounce it is half ways entertaining.  Technically it is not chemotherapy as it is a humanized monoclonal antibody. Some portray it as a smart bomb versus the carpet bombing strategy. Let's pray for its effectiveness. Dr. Ustun optimistically sees this as simply another bump in the road that we will overcome.

For a few weeks I have given thought to updating the theme for the blog and had been waiting on good results from the 6 month check up. Regrettably, those were not what we had hoped for. Still, we feel as though we are moving into more of a healing phase versus the high level competition JoJo has been waging with cancer over the last 6 months. Indeed, cancer still sucks, and it always will as far as we are concerned. It destroys lives and families, often in random fashion without sensible explanation. The cancer experience however, is not without its value. I am still trying to figure out exactly what that is, but for now, let's get in the holiday spirit and bring a positive atmosphere to Beauty and the Beast.

Keep the Faith