I was so honored to be asked by the Melanoma Research Foundation and Novartis to write about the BRAF mutation of my melanoma, and just how knowing it made all the difference in my getting the right care in record time, which made a crucial difference in my survival. Please read my essay and share to anyone who might find it helpful!
What’s going on here these days: I’m anxious to be rid of the Superspreader in Chief and all of his hangers-on; anxious about our elections being free, fair, and safe; and anxious about the transition period. Part of me wants to be suspended in a sensory deprivation tank until January 21. However, I have scans this coming Monday, adding my usual scanxiety to the general anxiety. As always, I’ll be sure to post scan results here when I have them. I’m so glad to have you following along.
UPDATE: Scans all fine! Sorry for the delay in posting my results. I forget that not everyone is intravenously connected to Facebook. (I’d love to sever that connection myself.)
I'll Live 
Excelente ensayo. I am proud of my niece!!!
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¡Y yo de mi tia!
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Good morning! I don’t know if you remember our interaction together years ago at a Novartis online event, but I just wanted to say how happy I’ve been to see how well you are doing. Take care and keep up the good work-
mike
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Dr Davies, of course I remember meeting you! Thank you so much for following along. It has been quite a ride and I am so grateful to still be here. Very best wishes to you.
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excellent about the Foundation !!!
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It’s a tad frustrating to have been genetically tested so many times and not have that information myself. The Orien project has my blood, Castle Biosciences has my tumor, and my results from those things have already been used in several record-review clinical trials. But for all that testing and use, I don’t know which genetic mutations *I* have for OM. I just know my tumor was Type 2, which is the important bit… But if only for my daughter’s sake, I’d still like to know if I have BRAF, GNAQ, GNA11, BRCA, BAP1, or any of the other known oncogenes. (And if I’m going to turn into the OM version of Henrietta Lacks, I’d just like to know that up front. After all, somebody’s got to, or the science doesn’t move forward. I just don’t want somebody profiting massively off me.) I hope that someday *everyone* gets to know their tumor’s genetics, *their* genetics, and their risks of passing it on to their children as a standard first step of the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
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It would be a wonderful thing to know and not to get a whole bunch of runaround from insurance companies when you want to find out. (I’m in the middle of that process now.)
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