Meeting the transplant experts

 So I spent two hours in Addenbrokes on Thursday (Halloween!) and have a sheaf of papers I'm reading through and pretty much all the info about the choices for the next bit of treatment.

I don't have a choice about the full-fat chemo that starts in three weeks (well I could choose not to have it but that would eventually curtail this blog prematurely and I'm enjoying it, so no.). But taking the chemo means a bunch of pretty much guaranteed shitty side-effects so no more phony war. I also take some synthetic hormones that also have side-effects.

Then the transplant comes a couple of weeks later, and now I do have options. They have offered a clinical trial at Cambridge and I am likely to take this. It involves using an already-licensed drug, but using it much earlier in the disease. The only flipside is that I will be randomly assigned to get either the new drug or the standard treatment so it's a coin-toss. But I'd be no worse off than now. So looking like I'll take it.

Had a few other meetings in my day with the people who are going to do the bone marrow sample and also the team that will hook me up to the aphoresis (?) machine for six hours to harvest my stem cells. I even met a vein man (not a vain man). He was one of the nurses, Kenneh, but they routinely referred to him as "Ken, the vein man". He had a connoisseurs appreciation of all blood vessels and said I had 'very good peripherals' (the ones in your hands) but seemed merely tolerant of my arm tubes. But saw ones they could work with and I believe he is the person who will use them. Nice to be cannulated by a connoisseur.

And right now I'm on a train to see some elderly relatives before I'm in purdah, so have plenty of time to read all the paperwork.

But reality did intrude quite gently in the interview with the very honest and knowledgeable consultant. She said I was a very good candidate for the trial, but also admitted that my genetic variant will mean a shorter remission, if I do even achieve full remission. She was very pleased I'm staying fit, but I think that's because they can hit you harder if you're fit. But this old man will be at least in as much if a hurry after those meetings. Optimistic but in a hurry. Can't wait to get it started and done.