Daniel Phillips10 said:Thanks, Ivana,
My oncologist suggested moving forward with another round of intravenous Vinblastine—six sessions in total—but he did drop a hint that I should try to track down Nexavar, as he seems convinced it would be more effective than the Vinblastine.
He expressed his regret about the situation, though he made it quite clear that there isn't much more he can do within his current capacity.
Naturally, I pressed him for specific clinical studies to back this up, but his response was a rather blunt, "I'm sorry, but I don't have anything to give you."
I feel it would be incredibly reckless of me to just go out and pick a random clinical trial on my own without truly understanding the implications.
Honestly, I find it incredibly hard to swallow this suggestion from an oncologist to just "try to get hold of" a drug... for God's sake, we aren't talking about buying a bag of peanuts here. You obtain medication through legitimate channels—the doctor writes a private prescription so you can walk into a pharmacy and buy it legally. What he recommended to you is outright illegal; by all professional standards, he should be fired and stripped of his medical license for even suggesting it. Trying to source drugs through the black market or consuming someone else's leftover meds—who knows how long they've been sitting around or where they actually came from—is an extremely dangerous gamble. How do you know some criminal isn't selling you nothing but baby powder inside a capsule? At the very least, you should try to find a sealed box from a second-hand source, though even that is nearly impossible using that method. Most people who buy these things themselves are looking to sell them once they no longer need them, and those treated under hospital coverage usually take their exact dose and rarely have anything left over, let alone opened vials.
Clinical trials aren't being held here in the States because the market is too small, which is why your doctor claimed there's nothing available, but they are active in the countries I linked for you. Each one of them is a legitimate clinical trial with clearly defined parameters, and choosing one should always be done with a physician's guidance. The real issue is that American doctors are notoriously inert and resistant when it comes to this stuff, almost as a rule. Given that you're dealing with a relapse, I think a trial would be the ideal path for you, especially considering that if the drug proves effective, you might receive it pro bono for as long as you need it, even after the study officially wraps up.
In any case, I truly hope your treatment starts heading in a better direction.
