Hope in the Darkness... A New Drug to Treat Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

There's a new drug on the block... And Earl Groce wants everyone to know about it!

His story is one of Hope and an amazing 5+ years of living with (and thriving in the midst of) pancreatic cancer.

He shares so much of the journey on his blog... cpi613.com.  Head over there right now and be encouraged!

His story starts out as many before him... utter shock, disbelief and despair.  Pancreatic cancer is among the top deadliest cancers in America and has a dismal survival rate if the cancer has spread or metastasized.

And Earl's cancer had spread from the pancreas to the liver and lungs before being diagnosed.  It's a diagnosis none of us would wish to receive.

But... Earl's doctor was able to enroll him into a new clinical trial.  He was one of 20 patients in the first phase.  And this is the story he is telling to all who will listen.  We need more cancer patients and loved ones to hear the news.  Check out his blog... he shares it well!

The new drug CPI613 or Devimistat works in tandem with a modified Folfirinox treatment and in November of 2020, the FDA has fast tracked CPI613 for Pancreatic Cancer treatment.  It is currently in Phase 3 trials and while not the golden ticket for everyone, it has improved remission and given hope to many!

Earl received a beautiful thank you note from the daughter of a fellow pancreatic cancer patient.  She shares from her heart and it resonates deeply:

"Thank you for everything, and please keep sharing your story.  I KNOW we are not the only family you have given hope to in some of the darkest times.  This diagnosis is given as a death sentence by doctors, and a quick internet search turns up much of the same.  Your story is one of so few out there that shed light on such a grim diagnosis.  Thank you again."

Well done Mr. Groce!  Well done!  We need more Hope for the Darkness.  Thank you for being the encouragement we all need!

Prayers tonight for the cancer warriors and each one who is holding the line.  CPI613 is one of the newest drugs in the fight to win this war.  Believing with all my heart it is just the beginning...

All My Love,
Jane

Summertime and Rest

 

When the News is Devastating...

This has been a hard couple of weeks.

The news of wars abroad and wars at home.  The taking of innocent lives, the murder of children, right here in America.

Worry can consume our days.  Cancer compounds the fear.  It's a slippery slope... we can so easily get sucked into a vicious cycle of heartache and hurt.

And in the midst of it all, a time for Remembrance.

Memorial Day.  A Day to Honor, to Remember. To give thanks that another would lay down their life for ours.

There is still hurt.  And heartache.  And even worry.  We feel things deeply... the love and the pain.

To give space for the honoring, we're making a choice.... to be mindful of our Time, to hold some boundaries for Hope. And to choose Kindness in a world gone mad.

Turn off the news.  Put down your phone.  Lift up your head.  Get your house in order.

And pray.  Oh, loved ones, we have to pray.  Only God can heal our brokenness.

Only Jesus can mend our torn and weary hearts.

Choosing Joy this Mother's Day

 

Choosing Joy today as we walk out the grief...

Honoring a Mother's love the best way we know how, by holding those we love a little closer today!

May your day be filled with more joy and love than is humanly possible,
My Love, Always,
              Jane

He is Risen!

 

The Grief of a Father

 Good Friday... a day so filled with grief that the sun's light failed.  Christ hung on a cross meant for me...

"... and darkness came over the whole land until three, because the sun's light failed."
                                                                                                      Luke 23:44

The dark, all-consuming.  A grief that swallows hope.

And until I lost mom, that grief was always fleeting, transient, something to ponder on days like Good Friday.   

But walking out our monumental grief had a way of making the sorrow personal.  Painful.  Real.  Perhaps you know that kind of darkness, where the sun's light fails you.

I saw a recent post by  Rachel Lewis:  She knows grief.  She's walked through the despair and anger and darkness too. She captures the feelings of Good Friday from the depths of that darkness and the heart-rending bereavement felt by God the Father... a Father who understands our grief better than we ever knew.

"While it was the Son who died, it was the Father who looked on, no doubt wishing he could change places with his Son.

While the Son felt every physical pain, the Father felt the deepest pain of separation and loss—a feeling he, no doubt, had never experienced to that extent before. Especially when he turned away.

“What keeps me coming back is that God understands my pain.”

While the Son rose after three days, the Father took on the role of a bereaved parent and will forever know what it feels like to lose a child.

While Good Friday used to only point me to the Son, the beautiful sacrifice so we could know the Father—I now look at Good Friday as the day the Father made the even greater sacrifice—letting go of his one and only Son.

On this Good Friday, I remember not only the death of the Son but the bereavement of the Father. Not only did the Son share in our weakness, but the Father shared in our grief.

There is still so much I don’t understand about God or faith. When my friends suffer devastating loss, when senseless tragedies occur, my heart always questions why God allows such pain to exist in the world.

What keeps me coming back is that God understands my pain.

And on my darkest days—the days when I can’t see hope, or light, or goodness—I can go to him and tell him about all I’m feeling. And he knows. Because he’s been there too.

He sits in my brokenness with me, as only another bereaved parent can."

New Tests for Early Detection

 For pancreatic cancer, early detection is the key... the key to a survival that we are fighting for every day.

New on the horizon are two blood-based tests that can potentially detect pancreatic cancer before it causes symptoms.  And with pancreatic cancer, the earlier it is found, the more likely that it can be treated successfully.

We are excited to share the GRAIL's Galleri test and Immunovia's IMMray PanCan-d test.

The Galleri test can detect the presence of more than 50 types of cancer (including pancreatic cancer) and the IMMray PanCan-d test is the first-ever blood test specifically for pancreatic cancer.

And this is news.  Nothing in the world of pancreatic cancer has changed much in the last 50 years.  Treatments, tests, survival... it has been a hard fight. It's time to get an edge... way past time!

So, here's a few things to know about these tests:

Neither test is currently approved by the FDA or covered by insurance.  But both companies do run the tests in certified labs.

Both tests cost approximately $1,000 per test.

And it's important to state that the blood tests do not provide a definitive diagnosis, nor are they a standalone indicator of the presence of cancer.  As always, speak to your healthcare team when planning your cancer testing and treatment to determine what is best for you.

The Galleri test is an amazing test that can detect the presence of 50 types of cancer based on genetic material that gets shed from the cancer cells.  The results can also indicate where in your body (like the pancreas) the cancer may be found based on specific markers on the DNA 

The IMMray test is not available for everyone.  It was created to provide early detection for people who are at high risk for developing pancreatic cancer due to family history or a known genetic mutation.

If you are interested in either test contact your doctor or healthcare team.

And for a wonderful supportive team, check out PanCan's Patient Services for a wealth of information. Their counselors are some of the most helpful and encouraging voices you will hear on your journey... and we all need help and encouragement on the way.

Hope for tonight,

My Love, Always,
Jane