And so, my Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia decides to go crazy…
Not very “chronic” of it, huh?
But knowledge is power, right? Because now you know what the enemy is.
And don’t forget, Frankie. You have decent health insurance… and you’re already under the care of a doctor you like and trust–someone who knows your unique case history, someone who understands hematology and cancer genetics.
I met with my oncologist on October 9, 2020–fully expecting to hear that my survival would require months of hard chemo—with all the time, pain, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue, hair loss, and raft of other side effects that entails–and with no guarantee of success (whatever that means).
And I was fully expecting to have to make a hard decision. How much am I willing to suffer for an uncertain future? What algorithm shall I use to trade quality of life for quantity of life?
Imagine the pleasant surprise to learn that our first line of therapy was a pill.
And then imagine learning that this pill was just recently (November 19, 2019) approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of CLL.
No kidding. Talk about good timing in a bad situation.