My Cancer Journey

Well we made our way to Hamilton today and had my Stimuvax needles after going to the lab for blood work. After receiving the vaccine, I had a visit with and a neurological assessment done by my Oncologist Dr. Ellis, as a new procedure in the Start Trial. Apparently as well, I will now see my Oncologist at every 6 week visit. I also had a persistent sore on the back of one calf assessed and another "lump" on my lower back. You just never know any more. As always the trip down highway 6 is a scary one, but, we made it home safe and sound. Off for another day to recuperate and then back to work. Hope everyone has a great long weekend.
Our Granddaughter Shelby will be going to orientation day at Conestoga College in Kitchener today.......time is going by quite fast! Good luck Shelby!

Hi All

Have a great weekend

Well went into Hamilton again today but not for me. What a zoo it is trying to get to the parking lot at St Joseph's Hospital. Drivers in Hamilton must pay high insurance rates as they do dangerous things with their cars.

Have a good week everyone

Well another month has gone by and things are still doing well. It has now been 42 months ( or 3 1/2 years ) since we gave up the butts, ( WOW seems like it was just a short time ago ) and the cravings are all but gone. I am glad Sandy and I gave them up.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Hi All

Putz

"Dont Ask" !!!

Hi All

Have to drive into Cambridge within the next few days and see if my GP has them so I can compare them to the last one, and see if there are any changes.

Boy this is a busy month for Birthdays isn't it Mr. Lumpy ??

Well tomorrow back to Hamilton for X-Rays, blood work, weigh in, prodding for lumps, a review of the tests by my Oncologist, and needles. Will be a busy day.

Hello All

Grandma and Grandpa

Want to wish my Grand Daughter Shelby a very Happy Birthday, AWE sweet 19. Sure makes me feel old. Went to Innerkip for a BBQ with burgers and salad with barbecued chicken on it. Was delicious till the rain set in and came down in buckets. Was glad they had a gazebo.

Have a good day everyone

AHH Friday and the temperature is supposed to be lower today after being in the mid 30's and feeling like 42 Degrees "C". Man was it hot.

Any Ways stay cool everyone

Well folks it has now been 41 months since Sandy and I gave up the cigarettes. Wish we had done it a lot sooner. Or better yet never started. Back then is was socially accepted, now it is a curse to a lot of people..

Happy Canada Day everyone.

Hi All

Hope everyone has a great week and if you get Canada Day holiday off, enjoy.... Unfortunately Sandy is working as someone has to man the switchboard at the hospital. Maybe next year sweety !

Hi All

XOXXOOXOX

Another rainy weekend folks and a bunch of work carried out over the weekend dealing with the darn HST upgrades, what a mess. Hope it all works out in the end

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there, today is your day...

Great News....

Merck KGaA Resumes Stimuvax Clinical Program in Lung Cancer

FDA lifts clinical hold on START clinical trial

Darmstadt, Germany, June 17 2010 –Merck KGaA and its U.S. affiliate, EMD Serono, Inc. today announced that they are resuming their Stimuvax® (BLP25 liposome vaccine*) clinical program in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which includes the Phase III studies, START(a) and INSPIRE(b). The treatment and enrollment in these studies will restart after approval by the local regulatory authorities and ethics committees.

“Merck remains highly committed to the development of BLP25 liposome vaccine and the well-being of the patients. We believe this therapeutic cancer vaccine has the potential to be a valuable addition to the future range of therapies for oncologists and their patients,” said Dr. Wolfgang Wein, Executive Vice President, Oncology of the Merck Serono division.
This announcement follows a decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to partially lift the clinical hold it placed on the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for BLP25 liposome vaccine and allow the START trial to be resumed.

“Merck worked constructively with the FDA and other health authorities to address the questions raised on the safety of BLP25 liposome vaccine in patients with NSCLC and, as a result, we can now resume our NSCLC clinical program,” commented Dr. Bernhard Kirschbaum, Head of Global Research and Development of the Merck Serono division. “We have meanwhile received a number of regulatory approvals to restart in other countries and await approval in the remaining countries.”

"The resumption of the BLP25 liposome vaccine clinical program is very good news for the oncology community and NSCLC patients. If the START and INSPIRE Phase III trials are successful, BLP25 liposome vaccine could play an important role in the treatment of these currently underserved patients," said Dr. Frances Shepherd, Director of the Medical Oncology Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Coordinating Investigator of the START trial.

Merck temporarily suspended its global clinical program for BLP25 liposome vaccine in all recruiting studies worldwide following the clinical hold put in place by the FDA. The clinical hold followed a suspected unexpected serious adverse reaction (SUSAR) of encephalitis, observed in a patient enrolled in an exploratory Phase II trial of BLP25 liposome vaccine in patients with multiple myeloma. To ensure the safety of the study subjects, the protocols in the NSCLC trials are being amended to add specific safety measures.

a) START: Stimulating Targeted Antigenic Responses To NSCLC

* BLP25 liposome vaccine is an experimental therapy that has not been approved for commercial distribution.

About Stimuvax
Merck is investigating the use of Stimuvax® (BLP25 liposome vaccine) in the treatment of NSCLC. The vaccine was granted fast-track status for NSCLC in September 2004 by the FDA. Merck KGaA obtained the exclusive worldwide licensing rights from Oncothyreon Inc., Seattle, Washington, USA. Stimuvax is being developed in Europe by Merck. In the United States and Canada, Stimuvax is being developed by EMD Serono, an affiliate of Merck KGaA.

The START study is a Phase III, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Stimuvax in subjects suffering from unresectable, stage IIIA or IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have had a response or stable disease after at least two cycles of platinum-based chemo-radiotherapy. The study will involve more than 1,300 patients in approximately 30 countries. The primary endpoint of the START study is overall survival (OS).

AHHH It is Hump day and back to Hamilton again tomorrow for more prodding and all that other fun stuff.

Have a great week everyone

Wow another month gone, man how time flies, Stay cool everyone.

Hi All

Ah Hump day and HOT as you know where temperature is up to 30 Degrees C.

Glad I finally got some air conditioning in my office at work. Stay cool everyone.

Hope everyone had a great long weekend

Hi All

Long weekend coming up will be nice to spend some time with the Missus as she is off as well.

Happy Mothers Day to all the Mom's out there. Hope you have a great day.

Also I want to wish my daughter Wendy a Happy Birthday as she was born on Mothers Day just a few short years ago! Drive careful Sweety...
XOXOXOX
Dad

Hi All... Well Tomorrow it will be 3 years and 3 months since we gave up the cigarettes and have not looked back. Well.....there has been a few times that I reached for my chewing gum (in my shirt pocket) and thought of them in a weird sort of way, once in a while. That time period is very short and it is back to my new normal.

So far all the tests are good except my URATE, AST and ALT are a little high and my Absolute Lymphs are low. We knew about that from the last Cat Scans as it was reported I have a fatty liver. Personally I have not removed it to confirm that it is so. I leave that up to the professionals. I also have gallstones and that also could contribute to a fatty liver. Have to go back to the doctors again for more blood work later on next month. Personally......I think they have a vampire in their midst somewhere. My Oncologist appears pleased and feels that the longer I can go without major problems, the lesser the chance of a re-occurrence.