Jana and I both had visits with our oncologists today. I have been on a two-month chemo break and had a CT yesterday to see what changes have occurred. My scan was essentially unchanged from two months ago, so my doctor is happy with letting me extend my chemo break for another two months.
Jana has had periodic (usually every three months) blood tests for cells with the BRC-ABL mutation, the mutation that causes chronic myelogenous leukemia. The number of cancerous cells dropped rapidly after she started on Gleevec three years ago and has remained at a low level since then. Recently the concentration has been about 0.001% range. This time, however, no cells were detected at all. It doesn't mean that she's cured, but it does raise the possibility of going off of Gleevec if the cells are still undetectable in three months. Research has shown that patients can go off of Gleevec for some time with out a problem. If the cells return, then resuming Gleevec is generally effective in reducing the number again, and if it fails there are two other (apparently more effective) drugs that can be used.
All around, we were very happy with today's appointments.
