Blincyto

I was able to re-admit and start the Blincyto treatment today. With that, I am now connected to an IV for the next 28 days. However, I can also look to the future with confidence that I will achieve the deep MRD negative (really low or undetectable levels of cancerous cells) in advance of a bone marrow transplant.

Starting Blincyto comes with a couple primary risks. The first is Cytokine Response Syndrome. This is similar to what happens with many COVID-19 patients where the body unleashes a lot of cytokines in an inflammatory response to the treatment. The second primary risk is neurotoxicity that includes central nervous system complications. At the time of this writing, I am five hours into my treatment and am having no negative responses whatsoever.

Blincyto is typically used for patients who have relapsed in their condition. Since I am in remission and have low levels of cancerous cells, side effects were not really expected. I am using the Blincyto because it is less toxic than tradition chemo and more effective for our desired objective. I’m grateful for progressive physicians guiding my treatment.

Thanks again for your continued prayers and support. I’ll keep you updated daily while I am here in the hospital over the next several days. The plan is to remain in the hospital while we monitor for any sign/symptoms of negative side effects. This is standard protocol for starting Blincyto. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll discharge home between Saturday and Monday depending on the availability of home health.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates, and I give strength to him with my song.” Psalms 28:7