COVID Cancels trials at SCCA

[subliminaldood]

I was recently informed that all trials at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance have been put on hold. The reason is they can't keep their research staff in the office and can't guarantee the level of care to trial patients... All other cancer care continues, just no trials.

What this means for me... I was set to go on the new PT-112 trial but now I'll instead do chemo again with Cabazetaxel and Carboplatin. PSA now at 57.1... Up from 26 on 12/30. I have a met in the left hip area but keeping that pain in check with RSO. Otherwise very minimal pain... Mostly I feel the results of inflammation more acutely when my PSA level is up. I don't know why that is.

Good luck if you were planning on a trial!

[Mount_Rainier]

I'm not challenging your info about SCCA putting a hold on clinical trials except to say I was referred to SCCA by Valley Medical Center for possible clinical trials and was contacted yesterday to set my first appointment. No mention was made of clinical trials bringing put on hold. As it turns out, I was able to get an appointment with Dr. Montgomery, perhaps the best prostrate cancer specialist in the Pacific Northwest. His appointments are all done at the UW Medical Center in Montlake which is part of the SCCA as you know. My appointment has to be a telehealth appointment do to Covid restrictions.

Hoping for the best for both of us as the journey continues!

[subliminaldood in reply to Mount_Rainier]

Interesting. I was only in a few weeks before this came up. Referred to SCCA from Swedish in search of trials. Maybe this is related to the Eastlake SCCA building at Fred Hutch rather than UW Medicine.

[Mount_Rainier in reply to subliminaldood]

Yes! You’re correct. I should have added that at my request for an appointment with Dr. Montgomery, it was explained that because he only sees patients at the UW location, if a trial was an option, it would have to be done through SCCA and I would have to transfer treatment there. Perhaps the appointment scheduler didn’t feel compelled to mention the trials have been put on hold.

[bean1008]

So sorry to hear this! I'm a SCCA patient as well and hopefully things seem to be calming down and they'll be up and running soon. In March 2019 I had a lymphadenectomy for some affected lymph nodes. The surgeon told me in my hospital bed the next day that they'd shut down the OR's that very night due to Covid. I'd gotten in there by the skin of my teeth!