"It feels good that Emory has so many treatment options, that they offer clinical trials in addition to the traditional treatment options."
I noticed a small lump on my neck and I pointed it out to my primary care physician. She decided to run some tests and discovered that it was a tumor. That’s when she recommended that I come to Emory.
After a CT and PET scan, I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.
I started chemotherapy treatment immediately. When I began this treatment, Emory offered to enroll me in a clinical trial with a new medication called Vorinostat. It was simply a pill that I took each day, along with standard chemotherapy, but the doctors told me that it had been shown to be a promising option for people with my type of cancer.
It wasn’t an easy decision to participate in the trial because I had some doubts about the drug. The Emory staff never put any pressure on me but instead they explained that the drug had been tested and had worked well in other trials. My wife and I talked about it and finally I decided to participate in the clinical trial. I had stage 4 cancer, the latest stage of lung cancer, and I decided it was best to explore every possible option.
Vorinostat turned out to be a great success for me. My tumor shrank significantly and has continued to shrink since.
It feels good that Emory has so many treatment options, that they offer clinical trials in addition to the traditional treatment options.
I recently completed my third round of chemotherapy. My tumor has been pretty stable and everything is going well. It is not completely going but it is very small. We do chemo and then they takes scans to check my progress. I pray for the day that we do the scan and it is not there.
I am thankful for Emory, doctors and the nurses, and especially for the clinical trials. I feel that they are a big part of me being here today.
Orrin Batts
Age 57
Atlanta, GA
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