I think we can all agree that Pancreatic Cancer is one of the most deadly of all cancers. We've talked pancreatic cancer statistics before... and they are just plan terrifying.
It's imperative to find new therapies and treatments that will extend and save the lives of those impacted by this disease.
It is the heartbeat of this daughter. I would give anything to have my mom back, whole and healed.
The missing is a pain I live with everyday. And I lay that hurt firmly at the door of pancreatic cancer.
There is a cure. We must find it. My prayer is that those reading this blog will be on the healing end of that journey... whether it's a traditional treatment or an alternative therapy, or a combination of both... healed and whole is the goal...
Which brings us to the finding of that cure. I wish it was as easy as pulling a rabbit out of the hat. But, unfortunately, the wheels of medicine and science turn much slower than that.
Enter the Clinical Trial. It is the way new treatments run the gauntlet. Either they make it thru or they fizzle in the trying.
And this is the infuriating part. The ones that show promise, a.k.a. the treatments that seem to be working in the fight, well, we still have to wait for the FDA to approve their use. It's a waiting that sometimes takes months, if not years for promising therapies to get approved...
Pancreatic Cancer Patients do not have months to wait for promising treatments. Period.
They are needed now.
And so, it is a difficult thing for me to include these next treatments here. For you to read about. When they are not widely available for treatment.
Seems more than cruel. But it is also the spring of Hope that Help is on the Way...
There are two treatments to discuss today. They waffle between traditional and alternative. In one sense they are traditional, dealing with medical and biological science. On the other hand they don't fall easily into either the chemotherapy or radiation camp of conventional cancer treatment. So, we'll discuss them based on merit alone, irregardless of what camp they fall into...
Back to the two treatments...two treatments that seem to go hand in hand. Treatments that are right now in promising clinical trials, one that has even made the fast-track breakthrough designation thru FDA...
Stick with me when the definitions and medical jargon make your eyes glaze over. There's a point where it all comes together... Promise.
So the two treatments... Immunotherapy and Vaccines
Immunotherapy is the treatment to stimulate or restore the ability of the immune (or defense) system in our bodies to fight disease.
Vaccines are products that stimulate a person's immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease and protect that person from said disease.
See where they're going here? Immunity against Pancreatic Cancer.
To be immune to pancreatic cancer means that you can be exposed to it, in other words, your wayward pancreas can go all postal and try to grow cancer, but still you will not get pancreatic cancer.
Got your attention? Yes?! Sounds unbelievably good. (Skepticism kicking in, but hang with me...)
One new treatment uses a "powerful new technology in genetic engineering that turns our own immune cells into 'specially trained assassins' capable of finding, attaching, and eliminating pancreatic cancer tumors." Source: Cancer Research Institute
And then it goes and gets so very complicated in terms of medical lingo... So, my simple version is this...
The doctors have found a way to turn our T-cells on and give them orders to find and kill the pancreatic cancer cells. I know, I know... sounds like a Sci-Fi thriller. But it has shown promising results with leukemia patients and now the immunotherapy clinical trial is working on pancreatic cancer.
(p.s... T-Cells are types of white blood cells that are at the core of our immune responses. They're the good guys!)
Another new treatment in clinical trials right now is called The CRS-207 and GVAX trial.
Right? It's all alphabet soup, but what does it mean... that's what I really want to know!
So, again, simple, simple...
The alphabet code names stand for two difference anti-cancer vaccines, CRS-207 and GVAX. When given in sequence the combination essentially trains the body to recognize and attack pancreatic tumors. The GVAX vaccine, developed by Dr. Elizabeth Jaffee, was designed to "reprogram" tumors to include immune system T-cells (the good guys) which are then able to fight the cancer from within.
Working in the same vein, researchers from the John Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that a combination of the GVAX vaccine and a low-dose chemotherapy may have made the pancreatic cancer more susceptible to the effects of immunotherapy. This is a rather important finding because pancreatic cancer tumors are considered by many in the medical field to be nonimmunogenic...in other words not very receptive to the immunotherapy idea. For a more in-depth study of this therapy, you can read the article in its entirety here.
Are you eyes glazing over yet?
Well, to make a long story even longer, the CRS-207/GVAX trial has actually received a breaththrough therapy designation from the FDA for its potential as a treatment for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. The FDA made this designation based on the very promising results from a phase II clinical study. In this study patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer lived an average 46% longer than those not given the trial vaccine/immunotherapy...
Does that mean we've found the cure??? Stop the presses and all that?!
I'm not jumping on that bandwagon yet... This treatment is still in its infancy. But, oh, the possibilities.
Can you feel the Hope?
And yet, much of what I have shared today can only be found in the Clinical Trials.
So...the question begs... When are Clinical Trials Recommended? I mean, let's say you have been given the horrifying diagnosis of pancreatic cancer... when do you stay the line with traditional treatments? When do you take the leap and commit to a clinical trial?
The Cancer Research Institute addresses this very issue for pancreatic cancer patients:
"Because of the poor prognosis and the lack of effective treatment options, for pancreatic cancer a clinical trial is nearly always preferred over existing treatment options for everything except localized tumors that can be removed surgically. Specifically, pancreatic cancer patients are encouraged to participate in clinical trials:
* As adjuvant treatment after surgery for local disease
* When pancreatic cancer returns after surgery
* For unresectable disease (inoperable), when patient is in good condition
* After first-line treatment for locally advanced cancer of metastatic, if the patient has good performance status"
The Cancer Research Institute offers a Clinical Trial Finder that helps patients find current clinical trials of immunotherapies for pancreatic cancer that are currently enrolling patients.
This is where information overload can de-rail a person fast.
My enouragement to you right now? Take a Grace Break or two... decisions are made best after Peace has descended to calm your heart and spirit...
Lifting you up in Grace this day, Always,
Jane
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