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Anyone have chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)?

Blood Cancers & Disorders | Last Active: 30 minutes ago | Replies (303)

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@loribmt
Thank you for all the tips and the link for a functional medicine practioner! I'm on my second full day of antibiotics, no relief yet but I'm hopeful.

I just got an e-mail from myleukemiateam.com that said "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first all-oral, fixed-duration combination therapy for adults newly diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). “All-oral” means the medications are taken by mouth — no infusions or injections are needed. “Fixed-duration” means the treatment is given for a set amount of time, not indefinitely.".

It's the first I have heard of therapy for newly diagnosed adults. I'm going to ask my oncologist about it.

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Replies to "@loribmt Thank you for all the tips and the link for a functional medicine practioner! I'm..."

@loriskt The regimen you speak of is Acalabrutinib (Calquence) +Venetoclax (Venclexta). It's typically prescribed as a time limited treatment with 2 cycles (28 days) of Acalabrutinib alone (the reduce or debulk the cancer burden) followed by 12 cycles of the drugs in combination. The biggest logistic challenge is that in cycle 3 the Venetoclax has to be given in a weekly ramp up from 20mg per day to 50mg, 100mg, 200mg and finally full dose 400mg with a good number of required blood draws and doctor visits. This minimizes the possibility of Tumor Lysis Syndrome (TLS) where the kidneys can't process the rapid die off of CLL cells. I'm on a similar regimen in a Mayo trial, but it uses even a newer combination of Pirtobrutinib + Venetoclax. This drug combination has worked beautifully and I've experienced no side effects. Proving just how far cancer treatment has advanced.