The first set of bad news I already knew. The afatinib has stopped working. I knew this back in June, Oncobabe confirmed it four weeks ago and today she finally pulled the plug on it altogether.
The excitingly good news is that I have a T790M mutation. And my blood test showed it rather than having to have a pelvic biopsy. Go T790 mutation!
This means, as soon as I get a delivery from the hospital pharmacy, I’ll be able to take my new pill a day. Osiminertinib.
As far as medical outcomes go, there was no better result. Even though I can only expect a few months of suppression of my cancer from this drug. I’m still a goner, but have a little more time to enjoy.
The bad news is that it puts my Australia trip at significant risk. Oncobabe has immediately recommended against travel. The drug leads to a high risk of a low white blood cell count and a need for antibiotics by IV. Not something easily available on flights to and from Australia.
I suppose I need to weigh up my desire to travel against the risk of it killing me. And balance that against a relatively short lifespan anyway. Perhaps I can come off osiminertinib while I’m in Oz and then go back on it when I return. I suspect there’s no medical investigation ever been done to see if that’s sensible or not.
At the moment I’m about as likely as Ben Stokes to be Down Under next month.
Seeing the World 