Good News

My Mom, Barb and I traveled to Center City Philadelphia yesterday to meet with the kidney cancer specialist. It all went extraordinarily well.

I'm extremely grateful to my Mom and Barb for getting me down there. Typically it's a rough trip that no one looks forward to. The traffic is bad. The city is crowded and confusing. The staff and nurses at the hospital are often snappy and rude.

But yesterday was an exception.

Traffic was smooth going in and out of the city. The valet parking was quick, efficient, and friendly. I even got a tip from the valet on how to best get out of the city at rush hour and it proved to be a gem of a suggestion.

Staff and nurses at the hospital were all very friendly and professional. I had to stop, look around, and ask myself a few times if I was at the right hospital.

The doctor was pretty much on time. At least we did not have to endure three or four-hour waits like we have endured in the past.

It was amazing how well everything went.

Most importantly I was able to get a lot of answers to some of the questions I've had from the doctor. And the answers were surprisingly positive.

First, the doctor looked at my last two CT scans and his opinion is that I'm doing very well with the Torisel chemotherapy. When the doctor first came into the examination room his eyes opened wide and he kind of muttered, "Wow! You're looking well."

The doctor feels that the Torisel is working well and we should continue with the Torisel until it shows signs that it is not working anymore. Sooner or later it will become less effective, but that could be months or that could be years, according to the doctor.

I was also able to confirm that a drug currently known as RAD001 is expected to be approved by the FDA and begin distribution in January. RAD001 is very similar to Torisel but instead of being administered as an IV, it is in a pill form. The doctor said that RAD001 and Torisel are similar enough that it would be reasonable for me to consider switching to RAD001 because it's much easier to deal with just taking a pill as opposed to having to drive for bloodwork and a weekly IV infusion every week.

The doctor also let me know that there are no less than a half-a-dozen other new drugs currently in the works, in different stages of clinical trials, on the path towards FDA approval.

Probably the most significant thing that I learned yesterday was that it is possible to chase this cancer around with the same drugs. For instance I could go through a couple years of Nexavar, Torisel, Sutent, and then come back again for another couple of years of Nexavar, Torisel, and Sutent. This is significant to me because I did not know whether a chemo drug could be returned to after it stopped being effective. No other doctor was able to answer this for me until yesterday. This means that I won't run out of options. And that's very important to me.

Otherwise, I was able to confirm with the specialist that there are new radiation techniques that have arrived that can target tumors precisely without harming surrounding tissue. And the Univeristy of Pennsylvania has the latest greatest in their new multi-million dollar cancer center which will go into full operation in December.

So it was our best trip yet to Philadelphia, and we shouldn't have to go back for at least six-months.

The gameplan for now is to just stay on the Torisel, possibly switching to the pill form RAD001 when it becomes available, keep exercising, keep active, keep eating, and keep living well.

Thanks again Mom! Thanks again Barb! I love you both!