It exists. Unfortunately, a
lot of people haven’t heard about it. Basically, the doctor takes a living
piece of your tumor and tests it against various chemotherapy drugs and drug
combinations.
I decide to do this because I
want to know what specific drugs are going to kill my cancer cells. Who
wouldn’t? Although it’s not a perfect predictor, it can significantly improve
my chances.
How does the doctor get a
fresh piece of my tumor? Well, after the breast surgeon removes my tumors
during the double mastectomy, a courier from Rational Therapeutics (where they
do chemosensitivity testing) picks up my tumor sample.
In a few days, I hear back
from Dr. Nagourney at Rational Therapeutics. My cancer cells are sensitive to
Taxotere (docetaxel) and Adriamycin (doxorubicin).
This is important information because this will support my oncologist in
determining the best treatment for my specific cancer. No two cancers are
alike. My oncologist recommends six rounds of Taxotere and Cytoxan, commonly
referred to as TC.
To learn more about
chemosensitivity testing, click the link for it under “Links I Love” or click below. Here's also a video of Dr. Nagourney speaking at a Ted conference.
Finally, chemosensitivity
testing is expensive but there are foundations that are willing to help pay for
it so don’t let that discourage you from doing it. The Vanguard Foundation
helped me and I am SO grateful! I'm happy I chose to do it. I feel very
blessed to have learned that such a thing even exists, because not many people
do!
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