Breaking News – The PARPS Have Arrived

The long awaited Parps[1], otherwise known as the “wonder” drug, are safely in my trembling hands. “Wonder” that is, as in “I wonder if they’ll do the trick?”

The complete story is too long to share with you in this particular blog. In any event I’m too emotionally drained at the moment. There are so many people I feel I have to thank first – yet cannot begin to mention everyone.

First and foremost, thanks to my oncologist, Dr Talia Golan, who took on the seemingly impossible to give me this life-saving chance. Thanks to Abbott Laboratories[2] for granting me their experimental drug. It was only today that I found out that I’m the only person in Israel that has been granted the drug on compassionate grounds – and I may well be the only person in the world given the opportunity outside of the Abbott trial.

Pam’s tenacity has no words that can be written to thank her.

Driving back from Tel Hashomer Hospital, my head was in a total spin. Bizarre things came to mind. Neil Armstrong, the man lucky enough to be first on the moon. His namesake, Lance Armstrong, a man who successfully battled cancer only to become embroiled in an on-going drug-abuse scandal. And as Pam, so correctly suggested, the drive home was reminiscent of bringing our daughters home from birth – a surreal drive with a cargo too precious for words.

For the record, I’ll be popping the PARP pills at 12 hourly intervals – starting at 19:00 local time tonight.

Let’s hope this breaking story will have a happy ending… in a long time to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] Veliparib, or ABT-888, is an orally active poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase potent inhibitor of both PARP-1 and PARP-2 that potentiates DNA-damaging agents in preclinical tumors.

[2] http://www.abbott.com