The treatment part of this Phase 1 clinical trial for kidney cancer is over, now we’re in the watching and waiting phase.
My husband, Ralph, is patient #3 in a first in human clinical trial for kidney cancer at NIH. He was diagnosed with stage IV Kidney Cancer in 2014. His journey has been long and somewhat difficult. This is his 4th clinical trial and 8th treatment regime.
A little over a week ago he had new fighter T-cells infused. These new T-cells are modified to identify and attack his tumor cells. At least, that’s what they did in the lab. We’re waiting to see if they behave like that in Ralph’s body.
He was released after 12 days in the hospital. Overall, he did very well tolerating the treatment which included 13 doses of IL-2. His team of about 20 doctors are very pleased and relieved. They really did not think he could tolerate that many IL-2 treatments since his heart is compromised. However, he was released on oxygen which is likely temporary and a result of the IL-2 treatment.
Over the next several weeks, we’ll continue to stay in the downtown Bethesda area which has great places to eat (and shop) all within walking distance to our hotel. He’ll have follow-up visits at NIH to include lab work, etc. After all, they want to keep a close eye on their patient and their experiment.
