Skip to content

The Art of Matthew Louis

Brave New Medication

Posted on June 10, 2020

Ah Cometriq I’m going to miss you (no I won’t). Our time together has been full of fun and romance (fatigue and nausea). I’ll always remember the time we had (in the bathroom).

I got labs a few weeks ago and the results were not so good. I got labs again last week to further confirm the results are not so good. All markers are showing that I’m no longer making progress on Cometriq and my calcitonin is up to about 9,000. Which is what it was back in December when I got my first labs. Also, my white blood cell count is dropping. Is it time to kick Cometriq to the curb? I think so.

I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday and discussed the results further. Thankfully, she is not as freaked out by the lab results as I was. She also said that those numbers can fluctuate and the CT scans (in early July) will give us a more accurate view of what’s actually happening. It’s possible that my tumor markers are inaccurate and my internal googly bits are doing ok. But it doesn’t seem likely at this point. Either way, Cometriq is not working as well as it should so we are planning to switch to Levantinib in July. It takes a while to get insurance approval and find out if it’s covered, how much it will cost, and all that stuff.

I was reading up on Levantinib and the side-effects are just as bad if not worse than Cometriq. I feel nervous about taking a new drug. But who knows, maybe it will be more effective and more tolerable. Fingers crossed.

Next steps

Getting CT scans in early July. Tumor board will review the scans on July 6th. I have an appointment with my doctor on July 7th to go over the results and the new treatment plan. Theoretically, I’ll be on Levantinib by the middle of July.

Share this article:
  • Tweet This!
  • Share this on Facebook
  • Share this on Reddit
  • Share this on VK
  • Share this on Digg
  • Share this on Linkedin
Posted in Uncategorized

Post navigation

← Wasting away and stuff
Pain in the Neck →

Author: Matt

More Posts

  • I was wrong
  • Wasting away and stuff
  • Brain MRI
  • Dodging the Genetic Bullet
  • Lumpy neck
  • Tolerance for Suffering
  • Things and Stuff : Part 2
  • Going off meds
  • ENT Biopsy
  • Still kickin
  • Mortal Kombat
  • One of these posts will be my last
  • Johnny Cancer and the Bone Scans- World Tour!
  • Chronic Pain
  • PET scan
  • Diagnosis Day

Art

  • Home
  • Gallery
  • Purchase Art
  • About Matt
  • Instagram Feed
  • Blog (cancer journey)
  • Contact

Recent Blog Entries

  • Even more specialer December 15, 2020
  • Benefit Show + Auction November 16, 2020
  • One of these posts will be my last October 10, 2020
  • Time for the fight August 27, 2020
  • Still kickin August 18, 2020

“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.”

–Kahlil Gibran, On Joy and Sorrow

Copyright © 2021 The Art of Matthew Louis | Design by ThemesDNA.com