In just about everything we do, we know that how people prepare determines how they eventually will succeed. Four NCAA teams have prepared all basketball season in anticipation for this weekend’s Final Four match-ups.

Similar to the NCAA Basketball frenzied weekend, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance team has taken the steps leading to the infusion. The team has been strategic and has tailored the protocol to Dave’s unique type of leukemia. The doctors are closely tracking his counts to keep ALL in check. Monitoring the progress and the engineering of the CAR T-Cells have been well calculated. Another bone marrow biopsy is slated for Wednesday, along with data collection to measure markers needed for research. Each time blood is drawn, several tubes are drawn for his doctors, and several more are shipped off for research. The tandem draw assures that all requirements are met for this clinical trial. 

Dave is staying as active as possible in order to gain strength and endurance for this treatment. Although they remarked that it will be more difficult than the bone marrow transplant that he had in October, Dave refuses to believe that and wants to be the exception. Further preparation requires three days of chemo in order to make room for the CAR T-Cells. This is scheduled for April 15-17. He will then receive one day of rest before the infusion. April 19 is the scheduled date for the infusion, although Dave needs to be in optimum health before that day.

An unexpected visit to the ER last night delayed this post. Dave was admitted to The University of Washington Medical Center early this morning. The diagnosis is Mastoiditis and Sinusitis, and he is receiving IV antibiotics for the next few days as an inpatient. The doctors are working quickly to resolve any health complications that could prevent the timing of the infusion.

Most importantly, every person we talk with about this CAR T-Cell treatment is beyond excited. The general feel is that this is a game-changer (their words; not mine). This game is a bit more important than the Final Four, but like any other game, we are preparing each day to reach the victory platform.