It Could Be Worse

Pretty color for such an evil, motherfucking disease, eh?

I HATE that phrase!!!

Yes, shit can pretty much ALWAYS be worse. Fine. True. This helps.....HOW?!

And, right here, I’m reminded of some of Deadpool and Vanessa’s brill snarky dialog.

Wade Wilson: Rough childhood?
Vanessa Carlysle: Rougher than yours. Daddy left before I was born.
Wade Wilson: Daddy left before I was conceived.
Vanessa Carlysle: Ever had a cigarette put out on your skin?
Wade Wilson: Where else do you put one out?

And it goes on – more at the linky. Damn, that movie’s hilarious!

In any case, The Amazing Bob and I saw Doc Abramson – AKA Cancer Killer Man – yesterday and got the results of Monday’s PET scan. Not good. The spot found on earlier scans had a major growth spurt. It’s Mantle Cell lymphoma and the fucker’s now grown into his pancreas.

An aside – according to Wikipedia there are only about 15,000 Mantle Cell lymphoma patients in the U.S. This shit's more popular (emmmm, maybe I mean prevalent) in Europe. I always knew it about TAB – he's très sophisticated, so European. I'm thinking that we'll now have to start watching nothing but François Truffaut flicks while sipping espresso out of itty bitty cups and chain smoking Gitanes. Goes with the territory, amiright?

*Ahem* Back at the results. TAB can still do pills versus chemo but shit’s amplified now. The pill (Ibrutinib) is an intense little motherfucker. The most common side effects include:   

• Decreased platelets (low blood count)
• Diarrhea
• Decreased neutrophils (low blood count strikes back)
• Decreased hemaglobin (return of the low blood count)
• Fatigue
• Musculoskeletal pain
• Swelling
• Upper respiratory tract infection
• Nausea
• Bruising

Oh and I got special instructions on how to handle these pricey babies:

• Keep meds in original bottle – do NOT put in pill box.
• Do NOT place pills directly on a surface – place tissue or paper towel underneath.
• Wash your hands before and after handling pills AND bottle!
• Keep hands away from face and eyes while handling

The fuck’s in this shit – plutonium?

Also too, these suckers are mondo expensive – $90 PER PILL and he needs to take four of ‘em every day. A year of Ibrutinib puts us up in the $131,500 neighborhood. Shit, a year at Harvard – tuition and expenses – is half that!

The good doc’s team is helping us apply for assistance though. Not sure yet what our co-pay will end up being.

I gotta get back in touch with the docs today to see if, given TAB’s dicky ticker, they feel this drug’s safe. You might be thinking, These are big time medics at MGH fer fuck’s sake! OF course they’ve considered all aspects. Well yeah, mebbe/prolly so but still, I gotta ask.

Ya know, silly me, I was thinking yesterday’s appointment would be no biggy. If TAB needed more treatment at all it’d just be some little magic pill – no more serious than popping an ibuprofen.

Ding dong. Nope.