5. Third line of treatment in less than 3 years

By the time that December 2011 rolled around my oncologist started to review new treatment options with me.  We could try a few things, one of which was going back to FCR.  I thought to myself, if this did not work last time why would it work now?  So he then brought up the idea of trying Bendamustine, also known as Treanda, combined with our old friend Rituxan.

Bendamustine is an alkylating agent recently approved by the FDA for treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). The FDA approved bendamustine (trade name Treanda) based on a recent randomized, controlled clinical trial as treatment for CLL. 

Bendamustine is a product that came to be by an accidental discovery because of the use of nitrogen mustard gas during World War 2.  It was discovered that vets returning from war who were exposed to small amounts of mustard gas were immune to some diseases.  Thus the birth of Bendamustine.  Funny how some people figure out what to use to fight cancer isn’t it. 

The problem with Bendamustine being a alkylating agent is that is what cytoxin also is.  Remember I had cytoxin in a pill form and with FCR also, so this could be a taxing thing for my bone marrow.  But because CLL originates in the bone marrow, it’s a chance worth taking. 

The rituxan is added to go after the bulky part of the disease and also aid the Treanda in fighting the CLL.

So we started another 6 months of IV infusions with this cocktail from February 2012 thru July 2012.  This consisted of 2 days in a row, the first day is both Treanda and Rituxan together.  Then the 2^nd day is a short day of Treanda alone.   And as before, each day started with the good old pre-meds of saline including Benadryl, and steroids.   This was to repeat every 28 days again for 6 months. 

The same old side effect of Rituxan hit me again, (remember the hot dog being cooked in a microwave?)  But the first few Treanda treatments went o.k. 

This chemo cocktail did not make me nauseous once, but I got some major bone pains, had some huge spans with being super light headed,  massive fatigue, and a fast heart rate.  But this time the steroids really picked my appetite up and my wife could not keep anything in the kitchen!

Rounds 1 thru 5 went as well as could be expected.  No major surprises other than what I mentioned above.  But after the last round I came down with a fever. 

Remember what happened to me ending up in the hospital with FCR? 

So this time we called in right away.  The doctor thought I might have what is called a neutropenic  fever because of a super low white blood count, as the treanda is also a indiscriminate killer of cells, both good and bad.   And the doc said to get my rear into the hospital.

So off to the E.R. again.  After about 12 hours of just about every test under the sun they determined I had tachycardia with a heart rate of 120.  The average heart beat should be between 80 – 100.  The fever had subsided, but they wouldn't let me go home until my heart rate got a lot closer to normal.  So after 3 days in the hospital, my heart rate finally got to 105, good enough to go home. 

Oh, this was all determined to a side effect of the Trenada.  Other side effects are a rash, that I am still dealing with today, about 3 months later.   And a metallic taste in my mouth, that will not let me drink anything from a can.  The things we do to stay alive.......

Never Ever Give Up...............