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Summary


Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) was the diagnosis I received on November 1, 2005. I went into the clinic three months earlier because of a tightness in my chest, left side, resulting even from a short walk out to my car. Then the week before diagnosis I went in because of a strange bulge in the left side of my abdomen, felt when lying in bed on my back. Turned out to be a rather large spleen, later measured at 11cm below the rib cage.

Since then, my family and I have been through some trying times. And as a Naval Officer stationed overseas in the UK and with family and friends living throughout the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Japan and Australia, I decided early on that it would be easier to update everyone via a blog than by email or phone.

I tried, and resisted, Gleevec. I also tried Sprycel but I proved intolerant to it because my counts dropped as soon as I took more than 50mg daily (standard is 100 to 140 mg daily). So I turned to a bone marrow transplant, which I underwent November 31, 2007 at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA. I have since been dealing with chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD) issues with my GI tract (resolved), eyes, mouth, and now my lungs. The lung problem is pretty bad as I hve been diagnosed with bronchial obliterans and now have only 42 percent lung function and am on oxygen a great deal of the time.

But not to fear; I am hanging in there, keeping my spirits up and continuing with my life. Through this blog, people have followed my treatment plans through success and failures, various types of medical appointments and procedures, my fluctuating counts, etc. Besides information detailing my own experiences, I also try to include general aspects of CML, various forms of treatment and the experiences of a stem cell transplant.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

My CML Circle Drug CO-PAY Assistance Program

Hello everyone. Me again.

I wanted to pass on some great news I have just found out about. I was recently contacted, via this blog, by Rachelle L., who wanted to provide information on behalf of Novartis Oncology about a program they have to offer.


The My CML Circle Co-pay Assistance Program provides support for patients throughout their Ph+ CML treatment by providing a co-pay assistance card to eligible patients who are currently taking GLEEVEC (imatinib mesylate) and/or TASIGNA (nilotinib). In addition to receiving co-pay assistance for these treatments, My CML Circle Co-pay Assistance Program also provides regular updates on Ph+ CML treatment and healthy living, along with information on topics like managing side effects and tips for communicating with your doctor.

For more information or to enroll, please visit www.mymclcircle.com or call toll-free at 1-877-966-2745.

Posted by David Cox

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1 comments:

Pam in Chicago said...

Hi David,

While this may sound good, I just got off the phone with them and they offer a whopping $25 per refill. My co-pay is about $1700/ month. Took all I had not to laugh at the nice person on the other end of the line!

I lost my job in September, and unemployment barely covers my half of the mortgage. Clearly, $25 is not much help. HOWEVER, they did provide a number to call Novartis directly where I was told that much greater assistance was available. I called and spoke with Carrie--she was wonderful!! Gave me great hope that I will get to start this medication sooner, rather than later--and without losing my house! The number, if anyone else needs it, is 800.282.7630.

January 13, 2010 11:58:00 AM PST

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