This first part has a lot of sciencey lingo. I have tried to make it digestible, but if I have failed, read towards the bottom, there is a more synthesized version of my treatment plan.
Before the beginning: When I was initially diagnosed, I was under the impression that I would be doing hormone therapy alongside a drug classed as a CDK4/6 inhibitor. That is the standard of care for hormone-receptive MBC patients right now, as the first line of treatment.
In September I was given Zometa, which is a bone strengthening drug. I was also given my first injection of Lupron. Lupron is an ovarian suppression (OS) drug that shuts down ovarian function. This shuts down the largest producer of estrogen in my body, essentially cutting off my cancer’s food source in a significant way. Doing OS also puts my body into menopause. Menopause at age 34 comes with a lot of side effects and worries. More on this in a later post.
The beginning: Last week when I came in to get my second Lupron injection and to start on the other medications I was told that I was eligible for a clinical trial. A spot just opened up. I will post a full link to the clinical trial on the documents page for those that want to read it. Essentially the trial is adding an immunotherapy drug to the standard of care I was already planning on doing.
Immunotherapy has a lot of promise. I was very excited that this was an option for me. It’s a drug that allows my own immune system to fight the cancer cells.
The treatment plan right now: Currently I am on track to have immunotherapy every three weeks, Lurpon every month, Zometa every three months, and daily I will be taking an aromatase inhibitor (AI) and the CDK4/6 inhibitor.
If that felt like I was speaking a foreign language, let me make it a little easier to understand. The OS and the AI make it so there is less food produced and available for my cancer. Those take away a lot of the food supply. The CDK4/6 inhibitor works as a sort of breaking mechanism, slowing down the cancer cells rate of growth. And the immunotherapy works at activating my immune system and allowing my own body to fight the cancer cells. We are attacking this cancer from all different angles.
When cancer comes back so quickly and aggressively, it’s necessary to attack it from different pathways. And that is what is happening with these therapies. I will be on this clinical trial for as long as it is working for me. I am hopeful that in 6 weeks when I have scans, that I will see no progression of the disease in my body.
Hannah in CancerLand 