Lazy days

Man have I been pretty lazy lately. 

This last chemo has hit me a bit harder than the others in the fact that I have had a good amount of bone aches and just overall exhaustion. I could lay on the couch pretty much all day but try my best to get out of the house at least once a day. There has been a few days without that happening and I'm perfectly ok with that. It's hard to know if it is just low white counts again or if I am going towards anemia. Only way to know is with the blood tests and I don't have those again until Tuesday. 

Eating has been really hard lately as well. The things that sounded good these last few weeks don't sound good anymore and then there isn't much else that has taken its place. I have been craving shrimp a lot though. A friend mentioned it may be because I might need the iron or something, totally understandable if so. I am trying hard to get a good size nutritional shake in each day so that I have some vital nutrients in me. I still throw up every morning (minus a couple mornings this week) so I will be excited to be over that phase. 

Tomorrow I have a neck ultrasound to see if I still have any remnants of a blood clot in there. I truly hope I do not because I'm pretty sick of giving myself blood thinner shots twice a day and I'm pretty sure my stomach is sick of it as well. I will say I've gotten pretty good at them though. So weird to think I am good at that... my life is weird. 

Now the big stuff is on Monday. Scans. These scans will show whether or not we will continue on the treatment we are on or if it isn't working. If the tumors are stable or smaller, we stay. If they are bigger or there are new ones, then we go to the next option. The next option I have no idea what that is. Makes me very nervous to think I am coming to the end of not having many options to try, makes it all a little too real. People have asked how I have been feeling about these scans and I really can't say clearly that I think they will be ok. I hope I'm wrong and that things are working and all this really hard stuff I've been doing since October has been worth it. We will find out on Tuesday. If all is well I will get chemo #5. We shall see.

Last week I went with little Ruby to her infusion of Nivolumab (Opdivo) so I could see what her day looks like. Man, they need to redo the outpatient chemo/infusion center over at Primary Children's Medical Center. It was such a rough and crowded room to be in and it just needs windows or something. I don't know. It made me even more grateful for my insanely nice infusion room. She was a champ though and has handled things so well. That little girl just makes me fight harder just cause she is fighter more than she even knows. She knows she's sick, but she's been very lucky to not feel it. I hope this for her always. I want this drug to work for her so badly. 

As far as fun stuff that has happened, there hasn't been too much. I try going out to eat mostly but it is hard to find things that sound good to eat - but I still go! That's usually what I end up doing to get out of the house. My energy doesn't allow for too much more than that, but it is plenty for me. I love my social time! I am trying hard to get my random second room in my place all put together, but man I have held onto some random stuff that is for sure. I think I'm making head way though. 

I'll also just say this as well - I will miss President Barack Obama. In just a week since our new president so many things are in the air and it's amazing the level of comfort Obama gave me in regards to my illness that I can feel is threatened now and it just makes me sad. It's amazing how one person can change a whole outlook on things. I wont go into detail because, well, it's too much for me, but I am hoping to not have anything hit me too soon as far as the healthcare stuff goes. I already have my hands full, hoping to not make it be more. I'm barely lucky to have insurance right now (that's a post I decided to not write because it is just too much.) Anyway, here's hoping that whatever they propose it will take some time to go into effect. 

This wasn't a very uplifting post - sorry about that! I've been pretty mellow these past few weeks so not much to write. Hoping for some good news to write on Tuesday! 

oxoxo

Oh, my shirt is relaunched again as well until February 2nd. go to booster.com/notjustskincancer if you want one! 

New Plan... For the 6th time

Today was the day to decide what we are doing next. It was my appointment with my general oncologist. Since I hit toxicity and formed auto-immune hepatitis from the Nivolumab/Ipilimumab combo I am not allowed to proceed because the risk of liver failure is basically 100%. And if that happens then I am not a candidate for a transplant because of having cancer. Obviously this is worst case scenario but we aren't going to risk anything.

There is a couple options available still, one being a new clinical trial. It combines an injection into the lesions/tumors and also has infusions of Keytruda. I do not remember the official name of the injection but it is IL12, and very potent and it sounds crazy. The injections are supposed to be extremely painful and invasive. The tumors would double or triple in size before going down. With all that said it is showing to be very promising in the long run, but things would get worse before they got better.

My doctor basically said he has put me through the 2 hardest treatments and this would be number 3.
I was gearing myself up to sign on to this intense and invasive treatment and then we realized I am not eligible due to my high steroid regimen I'm on. I would have to be off of it completely before starting and that wont be for at least 6 weeks. And at that point we will look at it all again.

That brought us to figure out what we can do. Basically we need to get a handle on the tumors and get the pain down. This can be done through radiation or going back on the BRaf inhibitors. Because of my steroid regimen I am not eligible for any new treatment but can revisit old ones. We decided against radiation (thankfully!!) Because it has the potential to take options off the table later down the road. That left us with the BRaf inhibitors. We know I respond quickly to these and hopefully it will shrink the tumors so I can have some pain relief. We will stay on these until I hit the plateau again (it is inevitable that I will, almost all patients on this hit a plateau within a year). Although I don't like to see my options shrink, I am ok with this plan. I know that I tolerate the inhibitors well and feel pretty normal on them so that makes me happy to know that I can enjoy summer and won't be too sick. My Sun sensitivity will increase again but I have hats and all the sunscreen anyone could need!

So new treatment plan but not new treatment... Treatment 5 part 2?

I should be able to start the meds the beginning of next week. I will also have new scans to restage me and make sure we are still just dealing with tumors in my neck. Let's hope they have still stayed localized.

I'm excited for the holiday weekend and fireworks and hot dogs and friends. Now if I could have an adult beverage that would be even better... Damn liver!

Hotel Huntsman, 2 night stay

Wednesday, I went in for my scheduled treatment and went in to get all my labs done before they give you the go ahead to head to infusion. I felt great heading in, just intense nerve pain in my neck. Otherwise just a bit tired. For some reason my port wouldn't give us blood but would flush. I guess this just means the fibers built up like a clot but only blocked one way. This made it so my numbers weren't ready once my doctors appointment started. We talked about things and how the past 3 weeks have been and going forward and then the numbers finally came out. Once they checked my numbers it was obvious something wasn't right and it definitely wasn't right. Turns out my liver was in toxicity. The high/normal that the liver enzymes should be is 40 and 60, mine were 1206 and 1214 (respectively) so I got to be admitted to hotel Huntsman for observation and to get an intense steroid regimen in place and started. They also discontinued all of the meds that had the potential for raising the liver enzymes and one of those is my nerve pain meds. Lets just say I was not happy and the pain started to rise instantly. They did their best to control it but it was finally decided (with a lot of input from me and a doctor friend) that I could have it back. Just missing a day and a half of it really put me behind and I am still catching up. After the first night my numbers began to trend in the right direction, ~700 and ~1100. They needed to keep me to make sure they were continuing to trend down - Which they did and I was home Friday afternoon. Like I said I didn't have any real symptoms or pain from my liver, just from my neck. 

Because I reached toxicity (considered auto-immune hepatitis) I am no longer allowed to continue on this treatment. I said a bad word and my doctor said to not get upset just yet. His explanation was that he just returned from a major oncology conference where the 5 year data points have been released for this treatment. Following people who dropped out for toxicity, etc vs. people who completed the full treatment regimen, it showed the people who reached toxicity lived an extra 10%. Also we are most likely adding radiation to the mix which will accelerate the response in my neck while the drugs are still in my system. There are still options, we will just have to figure out the best one and where to go from here. Not the end of the line. 

I have appointments this week to go over all the next steps and I'll keep you posted on those. For now I am just getting the nerves to calm the crap down and getting used to a very high dose of steroids - hopefully not for long!

Day one - not how I wanted to spend my days!

I was able to leave my room a lot and actually enjoy the view from the floor

New lucky charm

Home was a good goal for the stay!

Father's day

Father's day was a good day, mostly.
I started the day out with a quick stop to the Wheeler Farm Farmers Market and had some breakfast. I then ran some errands and did some shopping. After that I went back to where I was dogsitting and played with the pup a bunch (sweet great dane) and then took an amazing and long nap.
After I woke up I got ready and headed to my parents house and we grilled steaks and had corn on the cob, beans and potato salad. All was super tasty and followed up with strawberry shortcake. I gave my dad some framed pictures of me and my sister and then one of my mom, sister and I. He loved them and was genuinely happy and enjoyed his day which made me enjoy it too!

Now the "mostly" part.. So that long amazing nap I took made me sleep through the normal time I take my neck nerve pain meds. I take them 3 times a day and can tell when I need them but was dead asleep so I missed it. I took them as soon as I woke up but knew I'd pay for the 2 hours of lapse. About half way through dinner the pain got pretty intense and obvious to everyone. We tried some anti-inflammatory gel but I feel like it made it a little worse. It got to the point that I finished dessert and headed out so I could lay down and try and figure out something to help. Nothing helped besides time, laying down (kinda) and my next dose.
It is insane to me the pain I've been having in my neck. My tumors are a fraction of the size they were at the worst and are causing almost as much pain. So so crazy. Hoping to begin to manage it better. appointment on Wednesday.

But like I said father's day was a good day, mostly.

Can't sleep...

It is 1:53 am and I can't sleep. Some of it is that I can't get comfortable with my dang neck nerves firing like crazy but most of it is thinking about random things. The main thing I keep thinking about is the Rally for Ruby in the morning. And just Ruby and her family in general. I just keep thinking how can she possibly have the same thing as me. How is it that she is so full of life yet inside her little body is a beast attacking. It just doesn't seem real, especially since she doesn't show any signs of being sick - even with treatment she hasn't had any side effects. She is truly a fighter and doesn't deserve the things she is forced to deal with. Me, I'm 33 and can understand what cards I've been dealt. I can understand, even though I'd rather not, the scary reality of what this diagnosis carries. I know the statistics. I don't want the statistics to apply to sweet innocent 3 year old Ruby. I don't want her to have to understand all of this. I want her to miraculously beat this f'r and grow up to be a sassy teenager that will give her sweet amazing parents a run for their money. I want so many things for this amazing girl. So so many things.

Back to the Rally. . . I know how much it meant to me to see my family, friends and community come together to support me time and time again and I just want that same feeling to go to the Thackeray family. I want tomorrow to be something that they remember forever as one of the many positive things to come out of an extremely negative situation. I want the memory of this day to pop in their head and bring tears of joy to their eyes like the thought of my birthday fundraiser party does. The thought of "is this real life?" Or "all of this for me/us?!." These are the memories that get me through rough patches and I just want this amazing family to have the same thing.

I know tomorrow will be incredible and full of love and support - as well as making a good amount of money. I've done my best to rally donations and do my small part to make it a better and hopefully more successful day. I know I'm not the only one rallying. There are close to 300 silent auction items - that speaks volumes.

I can't wait to basically have a mini high school reunion tomorrow and feel the love and support that will be in the air. I can't wait to hug Ali, just not to long of a hug cause we know what happens then. Tears. I'll take a short hug over no hug :)

Now to try and fall asleep. Hopefully writing this out will clear some space in my brain and allow me to get some sleep.

Good night #teamLex and #teamThack

Gofundme.com/rallyruby
Facebook.com/rallyruby
Thacksmack.blogspot.com

Things are pretty good

I am happy to report that since treatment a week ago I have had little to no side effects - pretty crazy and a complete difference from round one. The worst thing happening is that my neck is extremely sensitive and sore. The tumors are larger, red and warm. It is almost like they are aggravated. They are pushing on tons of nerves so I get lightning bolts of pain when you least expect it. It is very unpleasant and painful so I have started back on my nerve medication which is starting to help out a good amount.

I was so excited that I felt so good so soon after treatment because the Sunday after was two of my most favorite events - Gay Pride and the opening day of the Wheeler Farm Farmers Market. I rested everyday up until Sunday so I would have the energy to go to both. It was a full day! I had a great time though and was worth how tired I was at night. Since then I have been pretty active and even worked two days this week. Doesn't sound like much but it truly is. Hoping it continues.

One thing lately is that I am in a sort of mental funk. My mind just wonders to the dark side of things and then I have to reel it back in and to the moment. It is part of having cancer - your mind wanders and goes down the list of "what if," and it is terrible. I am working on getting out of the funk and not stay in it, it will just take time.

In the middle of all the fun my dad had back surgery. He had 4 discs repaired since they had herniated. His surgery went really well and he was discharged practically immediately. Hoping his recovery goes smoothly and no re-injury happens. No bending, twisting, lifting. Getting in and out of bed log-roll style. It's a lot. Backs are tricky... I know too well!

An update on little Ruby who is 3 and fighting stage 4 melanoma and on Nivolamab (one of the drugs I am on) - she had her scans this week. Her little body has 40 tumors and sadly they are growing, which means the treatment is not working and so they have to look at other options, which there is slim to none of. There are some clinical trials they can apply for but that is a process and may not happen in time. It truly makes my heart sink, and makes me think the worst for myself as well (I'm really trying not to go there) Her fundraiser is this weekend and I have been helping get silent auction items and was impressed that I got 30+ donations! I truly have amazing people around me and an amazing farmers market family. The rally will be amazing! If you want to donate you can go to facebook.com/rallyruby to donate to the rally or their gofundme - https://www.gofundme.com/RallyRuby - anything will help! I'm so excited to go support this sweet girl and her amazing family. Really hoping we both can beat this beast melanoma!

As always, thank you for all the love and kindness you've shown to me - especially those sweet people who have sent me letters! I was so amazed that almost half have been from people I don't know but just follow my journey. Truly incredible. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Almost all the donations, amazing. 

My Pride buddy for almost a decade!

Big Chair Photo - a tradition! 

Dallin and Davis

The Parade

Treatment Day 2

Day two of the combo treatment is done and in the books. It is now two days after and I still am feeling good. I am pretty tired and have constant nausea but not as bad as with the first treatment. I am laying low and resting mostly, to give my body the best chance of not freaking out. I do not want a repeat of last time! My goal is to be able to go to the opening day of the farmers market this Sunday as well as attend some of the Utah Pride Festival - as per tradition. It will be a full day but both of those things have great importance to me and I will be sad to miss out. Again, hoping my body cooperates.

I also had a formal ultrasound done of my gallbladder - named Gally fyi - and it was confirmed that I do have numerous stones. There is no infection or thickening so there isn't an immediate need to remove it. We (my oncologist team and I) have decided to not do anything with it until it spazzes out again - which hopefully isn't anytime soon. For now Gally is here to stay.

This week I attended a funeral for John Williams, the owner of the company I work for, Market Street. I worked for him for over 7 years and worked 7 of his legendary Christmas parties. He was one incredible, generous and fun man. The funeral was very positive and it was great to hear all of his accomplishments and to hear that he spoiled his family so so much. Pretty amazing to see. Makes you want to give all you've got to those you love.

I want to thank those that have sent and dropped off letters - you truly amaze me! I have received a good amount and it makes me feel so so loved! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

Now keep positive thoughts that I continue to feel good going forward towards the next treatment!

xoxoxo

Friday Update

I have been feeling slightly better each day, but definitely am still a whole lot of tired. I am doing really good at 3 hour naps and then feeling like I want to go to bed again at 6 or 7pm. I have to force myself to stay up until at least 9, that I can feel ok with.

I had a follow up appointment yesterday for a skin check and the clinical trials I was involved with early last year. I learned that one of the studies is going to compensate for each visit, approximately $45. I'll take it! All my skin checked out good, no new worry spots or things to biopsy which is always great. I also talked to both my oncologists about my damn gallbladder and we decided to do a formal ultrasound before treatment on Wednesday and see what is happening and how many stones are there (as well as how big they are) before deciding on surgery. I have been told I can have it out whenever I feel strong enough for the surgery. That is a tough one because this treatment has decided to kick my ass so I am not sure how I feel about putting a surgery on top of it. Or if it will just be good to get it over with and feel super crappy all at once? Why are these the decisions I have to make? I would much rather make the decisions of what kind of frosting to put on a cake I made or what to drink. Ya know, simple decisions.

It is a holiday weekend and I have very little plans, but the plans I have are great with me because it will just be stuff to keep my mind busy before heading into treatment again mid week. When you know it will make you sick it is hard to get geared up to go in... mind games I tell ya. I am more prepared now and know what to expect so I wont let it sneak up on me like this last one. I have my Gatorade and Ensure stocked up as well as a cozy bed!

Thank you to all who have written letters, we're up to 9 now. So nice of you to take the time out of your day to send me a little note. I haven't read them all but I am excited to see who some are from. Like I said, I am going to reach for them when I am having a crappy day or just need a little extra something something from my army.

Good vibes for the weekend and treatment next week!

Just another ER visit

Yesterday was spent at the ER, again.
I have been having a sharp pain in my upper abdomen that just kept getting more and more intense. After I started looking into why it would be hurting where it was, I realized it had to be my gallbladder. It got so bad that I decided to go in.

I had to go to the U of U ER since Huntsman doesn't have any options for evening and weekend urgent care. I was there forever... They did an ultrasound of my gallbladder and found multiple stones and one giant one. It had a freaking shadow on the ultrasound! Then the problem was to decided if it was infected or blocked. Luckily it wasn't either of them, but that also means that I couldn't have it removed while I was there cause it isn't deemed an "emergency." I was sent home (and finally was able to eat and drink a little something) and will talk with my oncologist and get a plan. I will definitely need it removed so I hope to have it sooner rather than later as the pain is pretty consistent and not comfortable in the slightest.

It has been a month that's all I have to say.

Sexy lady!

oh and they couldn't access my port so after 6 pokes they got an IV started... 

Shiz got real, real fast.

The last few days, well week has been a lot harder than I expected. Starting Friday night things just started to keep going downhill. I basically just slept the days and nights away, dealing with the constant fevers and trying my best to stay hydrated and eat whatever I could find that even sounded good. Then Tuesday morning came and I knew I had passed the point of feeling better and that dehydration had definitely kicked in. I was shaky and disoriented, nauseaous. When I left the bed to attempt to get up for the day I would only be summoned back to either sitting or laying again. I contacted my doctors/nurse staff and told them my concerns and they got me into the Acute Care Clinic (ACC) shortly after that. Once there they did some tests to decide if I was dehydrated and I could barely stand during them, my heart rate was in the 140's and my blood pressure was all over the place. Not to mention the steady fever of 100. Doctors there wanted to rule out infection as well. We started fluids and then pulled labs for the infection testing. After my second bag of fluids, they said they may admit me because my oncologist feared I was having a really rare heart side effect which is an inflammation of the heart as a muscle. Luckily, after the tests came back normal, they let me go home; 6 hours, 10 labs/test and 3 liters of fluids later. I felt better but definitely wasn't great. My friend helped me get home and then I headed to bed - still no appetite.
Everyday since I have gotten a bit better and a little stronger. I was able to run to the store - doesn't seem like a big deal but man it wiped me out! I stocked up on Gatorade, Ensure, Coca Cola and Sprite; all things you need when you're really sick and need fluids or nutrients. So much for the no soda thing I was working on... It just tastes to dang good when you don't feel good.

My sweet friends brought me a tasty dinner last night as well as some beautiful flowers. Their company was plenty, but the flowers and food didn't hurt either.

I am planning on laying low the rest of today and then hoping to venture out and do something social tomorrow. I am helping gather donations for Rally for Ruby on June 11th and a lot of the vendors will be doing Farm Fest tomorrow so I want to grab what I can. I truly have an incredible farmers market family - always stepping up to the plate for me. 

Here's hoping each day gets a bit better and that I can get stronger to head into the second dose of treatment. Keep the positive thoughts coming!

oxoxo

A request from me to you

The most common thing I get asked during all this cancer BS is "what can I do for you?" Or "is there anything you need?" Most of the time my answer is no because I'm a bit stubborn and I am also a bit spoiled and people have already shown up with whatever I would request if I did. But this is a bit different. I am asking you - family, friends, acquaintances and even blog followers I've never met - to do something for me. This next chapter in this fight is not going to be easy and the past week has proved that to be very true. I would like you to write me a letter of your hopes for me and this current treatment as well as my life going forward. I won't open them right away but when I'm feeling crappy or struggling I will pull one out and get a little pep in my step hopefully. Is this a bit cheesey? Yes, but it is what I need from you to help keep my head up and stay positive when my body feels like a truck hit it!

Please mail or drop them off to my dear friend Elisas bakery,

The Baking Hive
3362 S 2300 E
Salt Lake City, Utah 84109

Pick up a Dirty Johnny or some Minty Mandy cake while you're there too... 

Can't wait to hear from all of you!

Xoxoxo
Alexis

Fever city

It's been three days since treatment and I've had a rough go. I've basically been sleeping mostly and dealing with practically constant fevers, ranging from 99°-104° (I almost went in when it hit that high but it went down as fast as it went up) I also have sweat more than I have in ages just from the fevers rising and breaking - makes for some good curls though.
Today I've had a bit more energy in the last half of the day so I'm hoping that I just continue to feel better as each day goes by. Being knocked down so quickly does a number on me mentally and definitely reminds me that I'm sick. It also doesn't help that I can feel and see my tumors growing. Yep, from being off meds for 11 days they have grown and in the last two days they have definitely grown and are tender. This could be all my TCells attacking the cancer cells like they are supposed to but we won't know until scans in July. Here's hoping!
Definitely going forward one day at a time.

Damn tumors... Hoping it is a good sign and not sure growing out of control

Port O Cath and Day One of New Treatment

I am writing from my infusion room. Today is day one of my new treatment. I also got my port placed on Tuesday. Lets just say that was a terrible no good rotten day. Followed by another rotten day. For the port placement they give you "moderate" or "conscious" sedation. Long story short and to spare you the details, my body doesn't respond to the drugs they give you for this so I was much more conscious then anyone should ever be for such a procedure. It was awful. And then yesterday I was so sore from being so tense during the procedure, every muscle in my upper body was sore. I slept well finally last night and woke up feeling much better.

Before coming up to treatment I met my sweet friends Ali and Cynthia (and Elisa) at The Baking Hive. Ali's daughter is Ruby who I have written about before. She has stage 4 melanoma so I feel extra connected with her. I just hate knowing that she has to go through the same thing as me in her little 3 year old body. If you didn't know she was sick then you'd have no idea, she is still just a sweet little girl - carefree and happy. Her and her sister Jane decorated cupcakes and then Cynthias boys joined them and decorated their own. It was pretty dang cute to watch. 

My port was accessed for the first time today. They weren't able to put numbing cream on it or ice it before so I was a bit worried about how it would feel being used for the first time. I literally barely felt the needle go in - well worth the two days of pain for the ease of accessing it. 

Right now I am waiting for the pharmacy to mix up my first drug, Ipilimumab/Yervoy and then we will get started. After I'm done with that (90minutes) I will get my Nivolumab/Opdivo and I believe that is a 60minute infusion. I have planned on being here until 6ish so we'll see how close to that it actually is. 

Here's hoping I don't get sick from these treatments and everything goes well going forward and that I respond well. Positive thoughts out there for me please! 

xoxox

Infusion started

All hooked up

Getting accessed for the first time - a breeze!

Warning: Hazardous (but also freeeeee)

The plan

We have the plan for the next few months. I will be getting my port placed on Tuesday May 10th. This is an outpatient procedure done under conscious sedation - what they do for colonoscopies and such. I have had this before and I am definitely not conscious which is great! A few people have asked if I had a port before and I have not. Ports weren't usually given to Melanoma patients until recently. Before just recently most treatments were not long term infusion based so it wasn't needed. Since this treatment plan (and the next option if I don't respond to this one) is a long infusion based treatment it is a smart idea. Although I'm not looking forward to the surgery I know it will be good in the long run. This can stay in for as long as I need it - years even. 

I start my treatments on Thursday May 12th. The first 4 treatments will be the combo of Ipilimumab (Yervoy) and Nivolumab (Opdivo). Treatments 5-however many will just be Nivolumab. The first 4 treatments will take approximately 6 hours in the infusion room. After that it will be around 3 1/2 hours. 

I am hoping I respond well to the treatments and don't have many side effects. I am going to try and carry on with life the best and most normal as I can. I have been working a bit but all of the things I have to do I can do from home at my own pace which is great. 

For now I am enjoying my last weekend before the next steps! 

Onward ho!  

The Call

Today as I was running around I got a call from a number I didn't know. I only answer these calls when I don't have anything else going on - otherwise I let them go to voicemail. Who was on the other line is what I imagined to be a sassy southern woman from her accent. Here is the call (as best as I can remember that is)

Me: Hello?
Caller: Yes, is this Miss Alexis Waters?
Me: This is she.
Caller: (in the most monotone script reading southern accent) Hello, this is --- from Bristol-Myers Squibb patient assistance program. I am calling to inform you that we have approved your grant for the Yervoy/Opdivo combination and I will be sending the drug to your doctors office shortly.
Me: Wait, what? That is amazing! Wait, what drugs again? (because I was making sure she said both! I was only expecting one!)
Caller: (again, in the most monotone script voice, she read the script again) You've been approved for Yervoy/Opdivo combination.
Me: Oh my gosh!! That is incredible!! Thank you so so much! Amazing!
Caller: (sooo soo monotone script) You have a nice day.
Me: Thank you! You too!!

And that was that! I am pretty sure she has NO IDEA what kind of drugs she is handing out. Life saving, life changing drugs! She was ready to just get off the phone and on to the next call. Gotta love a scripted phone bank worker!

I have been granted the FREE yes FREE drug! Amazing! Earlier in the day my nurses called and we have my port scheduled for Tuesday and then my first treatment will be Thursday. Pretty amazing.

To put it into perspective - just the Yervoy (Ipilimumab) treatment alone is $400K+ that they charge the insurance. I literally was just gifted over a half a million dollars. Freaking incredible!

Thanks for all the positive energy you all put out there for me - it worked!