Side Effects II

It's all in the timing,

I've been waiting over five weeks to hear whether or not I have the appropriate tumor gene mutation (C-KIT) to participate in a Gleevec trial. I was supposed to know within three weeks.. This was to be my first choice of treatments.

This morning, the Wall Street Journal published an article on "Living with a Lifesaving Drug's Side Effects" (WSJ, Thursday, September 15, 2009, D3). The gist of the article is that some lifesaving cancer treatments produce side effects that "... threaten the quality of their prolonged lives" and we're not talking about minor changes in lifestyle.

Wouldn't you know it, the featured example was -- Ta Dah -- Gleevec. I'm living a normal, symptom-free life, despite the presence of melanoma mets in my lungs, liver, and heart area. When I start chemo, clearly, my life will no longer be "normal." How different life will be cannot be predicted in advance, but neither can the efficacy of the treatment.

At age 74, which is better - a few good months or a few more lousy months/years?

I've added several web links, prefaced by SE, in the sidebar, where you can find more information about the side effects of specific drugs; however, you won't know your actual side effects, or their severity, until you begin treatment.

Timing? If I had received the gene analysis as originally proposed, I would already be committed to treatment or no longer considering Gleevec and this brain twister would be academic.