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Best. News. Ever.
Jun. 21st, 2013 10:25 amWhat I started with a diagnosis:
"Several early reports from GIST referral centers suggested that 90% or more of GISTs . . . would eventually have a recurrence, and that most patients would eventually die as a result [10,11]. For example, Nu and colleagues reported in 1992 a 5-year survival rate of 28% and a median survival of 29 months."
Scary shit, that.
What we (those of us taking Gleevec) are at now:
"With a median follow-up of 54 months, 92% of patients receiving 36 months of adjuvant imatinib were alive compared to 82% alive for patients receiving 12 months of imatinib. . . Beginning in 2002, reasonably effective criteria for estimating the risk of recurrence have been developed [15-18]. Using newer population-based studies, larger institutional studies, and emerging data from adjuvant imatinib trials, it is now clear that a significant portion of GISTs have a low to very low risk of recurrence. For example, preliminary data from the Z9001 adjuvant imatinib trial reported that 45% of patients enrolled were at low risk according to the Miettinen criteria of recurrence. . .14.5 years for those without metastatic/advanced disease at diagnosis"
Did you catch that? VERY LOW RISK OF RECURRENCE. (I want sparklies on that.) Having been caught before my tumour metastasized, and having a mutation rate of 1-4% (which is actually 2-8 cells reproducing out of 100), and having taken ('will have taken') Gleevec for three years, according to the studies it is likely that my cancer will not return at all, or at least not for 15 years or longer.
15 years before we hit "might return"?
I'll take that.
"Several early reports from GIST referral centers suggested that 90% or more of GISTs . . . would eventually have a recurrence, and that most patients would eventually die as a result [10,11]. For example, Nu and colleagues reported in 1992 a 5-year survival rate of 28% and a median survival of 29 months."
Scary shit, that.
What we (those of us taking Gleevec) are at now:
"With a median follow-up of 54 months, 92% of patients receiving 36 months of adjuvant imatinib were alive compared to 82% alive for patients receiving 12 months of imatinib. . . Beginning in 2002, reasonably effective criteria for estimating the risk of recurrence have been developed [15-18]. Using newer population-based studies, larger institutional studies, and emerging data from adjuvant imatinib trials, it is now clear that a significant portion of GISTs have a low to very low risk of recurrence. For example, preliminary data from the Z9001 adjuvant imatinib trial reported that 45% of patients enrolled were at low risk according to the Miettinen criteria of recurrence. . .14.5 years for those without metastatic/advanced disease at diagnosis"
Did you catch that? VERY LOW RISK OF RECURRENCE. (I want sparklies on that.) Having been caught before my tumour metastasized, and having a mutation rate of 1-4% (which is actually 2-8 cells reproducing out of 100), and having taken ('will have taken') Gleevec for three years, according to the studies it is likely that my cancer will not return at all, or at least not for 15 years or longer.
15 years before we hit "might return"?
I'll take that.
