Two More Good Months

My PET/CT scans at Mayo Clinic on 5-29-08 continue to look as good as they did on 4-10-08. That means a barely detectable smudge where there used to be a large, bright spot on the image. Conclusion: small volume, low activity, possibly even dead lymphoma after four months on the experimental drug, Revlimid.

I have been fortunate to have this drug work more effectively against the cancer in my body than it does in most other patients'. This makes me ponder the usual question: Why did God choose to send unusual favor my way? Or was this merely a biochemical coincidence that He allowed and that I happen to like? No matter. The issue for me is how best to be ardent with the delicious vitality entrusted to me.

Dennis L. Gibson, Ph.D.

Good Results From Two Months of Revlimid

In two months, the largest of several mantle cell lymphoma tumors in my chest shrunk from the size of a large egg, down to that of a dime. The dignified, reserved Dr. Thomas Witzig at Mayo Clinic exuded, "This is awesome! It doesn't get any better than this." He considered the amount of shrinkage my tumors showed (all little ones gone, and the big one just "debris,") as showing the activity of Revlimid at its best. PET scan's Standardized Uptake Value went from 13+ in Feb., to immeasurable in April. He plans to use the two PET/CT scans of mine in the major research paper he will author on the 211 relapsed MCL patients who took Revlimid as a single agent. I assume this paper will be a major basis on which the FDA makes its decision whether or not to approve the use of Revlimid for treating relapsed MCL.

In my case Revlimid may have been helped a bit by my use of Xango, the tropical juice mangosteen, during the last two weeks before my April PET scan. This juice's action is said to be anti-inflammatory more than anti-oxidant.

I am now taking my third 21-day supply of Revlimid.. My next scan will be in two months, meaning early June. I am finding that the disruptive effects of Revlimid on my digestive system seem to be cumulative. It was more gentle in rounds 1 & 2.

Dennis Gibson, Ph.D.

Mayo Clinic Revlimid Treatment

Tomorrow I will drive the 336 miles in seven hours to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Quick visit with the good and famous Dr. Witzig on Tuesday, then return home with my second 21-day supply of cancer-fighting tablets to take once a day at home. I started into this clinical trial of the drug Revlimid a month ago, and it's going pretty well so far. Just a few minor side-effects, like some hoarseness in my voice, and difficulty pronouncing some word combinations. like "the Lord." Too bad; that's one I like to say well!

Last month Mayo found that my cancer is showing up in a couple of places where it has not before. The total amount is still small, but it grows more aggressively than it has in the past, when I am off treatment for even one month. This means that my future treatments will have to be more rugged, probably not leave me looking or feeling as good as previous ones have. In April I will get my next scans that show what effect the Revlimid is having. If my mantle cell lymphoma grows, we will have to decide what my fourth treatment for this tenacious disease will be. Several effective treatment options are open to me.

My strategy is to keep putting together novel treatments that give me a year at a time, without too much depletion of my wellness. Then, five years from now, some researchers are saying they will probably have a cure, in the form of a cocktail of about five ingredients, each of which brilliantly blocks a different pathway of survival of the cancer cells, so that they give up and die. Revlimid is likely to be one ingredient in the cocktail, blocking the formation of the tiny blood vessels that tumors need to supply nutrients to them.

Thinking life-and-death thoughts like this tuned my eyes to notice the exquisite sparkle of snowflakes on the ground as I was walking the Prairie Path the other day. Sure, the winter has been long, and the amount and persistence of the snow tedious. But to receive the gift of new eyes, to see the friendly glint of the warming sun off the facets of the snow crystals - ah, that is one of the sweet legacies of having cancer, and a good God who's in it with me.

Dennis Gibson, Ph.D.

Cancer Update: Approved To Continue With Successful Treatment

I have gotten approval from the research team at Mayo Clinic of Rochester, MN, to continue the treatment I have liked for this past year with CCI-779 (mTOR inhibitor, temsirolimus, Torisel). After that one-year clinical trial, I am in "stable condition", the single 3-cm lymph node in my chest not having grown, and my quality of life hardly having been hurt at all - just a little loss of stamina. Other graduates like me evidently are asking to be allowed to continue this treatment until disease progression. So, Mayo has revised its clinical trial protocol to permit this. You might view it as Stage IV clinical trial data gathering about effectiveness and toxicity of long-term exposure to the treatment combination with relapsed MCL patients. The question of how this will be paid for now outside a clinical trial remains to be seen. I like the motto in life, "Don't ask permission, ask forgiveness." We will run the insurance claims through as usual and see if my company continues to be as marvelously helpful and uncomplicated as they have been. If they balk at paying for a treatment not yet approved by the FDA, I will plead my case that (a) Torisel is an approved drug, and (b) we know it's an effective off-label treatment for me because it has stopped my tumor from growing for the past twelve months.

Dennis L. Gibson, Ph.D.

The CCI-779 Drug I've Been Getting Now Has a New Name -- Torisel

The link below tells about the FDA's approval of the drug as "Torisel" on May 30. It was approved for use against renal cell carcinoma. My mantle cell lymphoma is the second disease in which the manufacturer is seeking FDA approval. One bright avenue that the May 30 action opens for me is "off-label use." That means that its approval for one use allows doctors to prescribe it for other uses, since its safety in human beings is now established. So, I may be able to have it prescribed for my treatment extending beyond the end of my clinical trial on November 15. Some interesting technical description of the drug's novel mode of action.

http://www.curetoday.com/breaking_news/Archives/torisel05.30.07.htm

Dennis L. Gibson, Ph.D.

Update on Dennis Gibson's Health

Scans taken last week show no growth of my cancer. No shrinkage either. So my condition is officially "stable." I was therefore able to receive treatment today with CCI-779. This is week #2 of Cycle #7, out of twelve, four-week cycles. My blood counts are improved. Platelets holding at 80,000. My energy level is very satisfying to me. My mental alertness is good. I would be content to live many more decades on this current schedule. But when the clinical trial is over, it will be up to me to work hard to persuade the drug company and the government and my insurance company to allow me to continue treatment with this drug that is not yet approved. "Compassionate use" is the term for this kind of exception, when someone else continues to pay for a not-yet-approved treatment, known to work for me, but beyond my means to afford. If I cannot succeed in that and my cancer starts growing, say next year at this time, I will return to actively searching for another form of treatment showing promise. One I've heard of is a transplant in Seattle. Another would be PR-171 in New York or North Carolina. It reminds me of a soldier home after three tours of duty in Iraq, now told that the Army is sending him there again. But I am God's and He may do with me as He pleases, and I am ardent to be pleasing to Him in how cheerfully and diligently I carry out His assignments.

Dennis L. Gibson, Ph.D.

Update on Dennis Gibson's Health

"Dennis, you've turned the corner!" My wife spoke as a prophetess about my progress over cancer. A chorus of consensus shouted within me, "I'm sure that's true." It was like the writer, Paul, expresses in Romans 8, that the Spirit of God bears witness with our inner spirit - consensus.

This fresh vitality came a few days after an infusion of packed red blood cells lifted me out of weakness, dizziness, and discouragement caused by low hemoglobin.

My experimental treatment has been tweaked to a low dosage of 10 mg CCI-779 every other Thursday. That level keeps my platelet count well above the 50,000 minimum necessary to qualify for treatments. Yesterday I was treated at 65,000! Next week I'm due for CT scans to see how well this treatment is continuing to shrink this "incurable" lymphoma in my chest. I might be helping to prove the usefulness of a treatment that will be repeatable over the years. So, we can manage the condition like other chronic diseases, like diabetes, with minimal reduction in quality or length of life.

This June has been the greenest, most luxuriant I have ever seen. My soul fills with life and worship! I am eager to increase the number of clients I serve in my office counseling practice and cancer coaching by telephone.

Dennis L. Gibson, Ph.D.