First Treatment Scheduled

3/15/13 – I am sitting in the waiting room of the John Theurer Cancer Center a Hackensack University Medical Center. Since my last post I have had an EKG, a PET Scan and a MUGA scan. As I was waiting to see Dr. Goy for my last of the pre-certification tests (the dreaded Bone Marrow Biopsy) a nurse approached my wife Sue and I. She said that Dr. Goy has been delayed due to an emergency that he had to attend to. The nurse immediately raised her hands over her face like I was going to lash out at her(she of course did it with a smile). I think my response surprised her. “Well the good news is that it is not me who needs Dr. Goy urgently”.

I have to tell you that over the years there have been times that it was me who was the reason that Dr. Goy was pulled away from other patients and they had to wait. I cannot tell you how appreciative my family and I were that Dr. Goy was there in a time of urgent need. The way I see it is when you have a doctor who is high demand, these types of delays will happen. If Dr. Goy needs me to wait, I certainly know it is for a good reason. Since I started frequenting the John Theurer Cancer Center, I approach all my appointments with the understanding that I will most like wait. I prepare myself by bring a book, or work from the office or a magazine or … Isn’t it better to have a doctor who is very busy than a doctor who is not busy at all and never makes you wait? OK, maybe I have been drinking the Dr. Goy Kool-Aid for too long but I am pretty sure it is always best to being patient as you wait. Hmmm… Does this mean I am saying we should be patient patients?

Dr. Goy did eventually did get to me for the Bone Marrow Biopsy. I must say that is was not as bad I remember from the last time I had one back in 2008. I have now officially completed all my pre-certification testing and I am ready to start treatments.

My first treatment will be Tuesday, March 19^th.

This treatment will include Pharmacokinetic blood tests. Basically I will be asked for extra blood samples for pharmacokinetic testing known as PK sampling. These blood samples are taken according to certain time points to see how much of the study drug, Ibrutinib, is in my bloodstream. During this period, the study drug levels in my blood will be measured carefully. The total amount of blood drawn for this test will be about 32 mL (about 6 teaspoonfuls).

PK samples will be taken at Pre-dose , 1 hr after dosing, 2 hrs after dosing, and 4 hrs after dosing.

The ill-tempered stir up strife, but the patient settle disputes

Proverbs 15:18

More to come…
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