My last post was in December last year, advising I was about to commence treatment with Zanabrutinib after 7 years of blood count monitoring; the final 2 years of that 7 being on Watch & Wait under the control of my Oncology Haematologist.
So far, after 8 weeks of twice daily Zanabrutinib tablets taken together with 3 supporting drugs, (an antibiotic, plus Aciclovir and Allopurinol), I’ve not experienced any significant life changing side effects. After the second week, i experienced some skin irritation on my chest and forearms, followed by the appearance of a mild rash in those areas. On reporting this to my Clinical Nurse Specialist, I was advised to cease taking the Allopurinol. And after 2 weeks without that drug the irritation had stopped and the rash was on its way out.
At the time I was given word it was time to commence treatment, I already had an overseas family holiday booking made many months before. I’m now on that holiday and enjoying it as I’d hoped. The only downside being the additional cost of travel insuration to cover the difference between a Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia ('CLL') patient not on treatment, to one on Zanabrutinib.