Thursday, July 29, 2010

9 Month Checkup (Post Ponatinib)

Wow, I can't believe it's been 9 months since I started the trial. A lot has happened recently. My doctor was offered a chair person at University of Utah, and I am very happy for him and the opportunity it gives him. The silver lining was that the replacement doctor is Dr. Mauro, someone who is equally recognized as one of the top world experts on CML and shares Dr. Deininger's increadible humanity. Dr. M treated me the first week down at OHSU, so it was an easy transition back to his care.
As much as I'd like to feel relaxed now that I reached CCR at 3 months and MMR at 6 months, waiting on results are surprisingly difficult. Unlike previous tests where I felt I had nothing to lose, now I feel that I have everything to lose. It's nerve wrecking to say the least.
So, down to the numbers. I am still Fish and Cytogenetic negative, and my PCR is 0.039% this time. Statistically that is roughly the same as my 0.066% 6 weeks ago, and my 0.036% from 3 months ago. Slow and stable.