Let the R-Chop begin...

I've decided to decline the offer of the trial as described in previous post. While I can see that there might be benefits to be had, there may also be none and a lot of extra visits (and parking trials) to the hospital over the 38 week time frame. There is also a risk of further side effects, some of which would only complicate things for me (as a diabetic) if they did occur.

Ironically, last night I had an email from some very dear friends in the States - she has been battling cancer of a different type for quite some time. While having been on chemo therapy, she is currently ONLY on Avastin, which is the much more pronouncable name for bevacizumab. Go Renate! This is exactly the drug the trial was being conducted on with regard to use in combination with the "R-CHOP" chemo cocktail which I am about to commence.

Tomorrow morning I start with the R part (the rituximab) and then follow with the CHOP on Wednesday. For subsequent treatment rounds, the R will be on the same day as the CHOP. It will be interesting to see how the body reacts and handles things. I'm certainly hoping it won't beat me up too badly!

Cheers,
B & J