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Restarted Ipilimumab Program – Hoping for Success
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Restarted Ipilimumab Program – Hoping for Success

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Restarted Ipilimumab Program – Hoping for Success

  • Post
    • March 21, 2011 at 2:41 pm
    Bruce in NH
    Participant

      Hi,

      Hi,

      I haven't posted for a while but logged in this morning and saw the success Rocco has had with ipilimumab – fantastic! Last summer I completed the first round of ipi and my PET scan in November showed three small tumors as stable – good news! So I was disappointed when I had a follow-up PET scan in February, only to find out the chest wall tumor grew by 50% and a fourth tumor is growing in the same region – bummer! So my onc has restarted the ipi program for the second time. My second infusion is this Thursday. Fortunately I tolerate the side effects well as compared to IL2 and biochemo therapies in 2009. So it's wait and see again. The good news is that the chest wall tumors are easily operable as compared to the center chest and left lung tumors that still remain stable after 2+ years – yea! Hoping ipi knocks them all down this time!

      My best wishes to all of you who continue to fight this disease. I feel very fortunate to have celebrated my 10th year of fighting melanoma back in October. So continue the fight with me and enjoy life as I do to the fullest!

      Take care,

      Bruce in NH

    Viewing 5 reply threads
    • Replies
        • March 21, 2011 at 4:46 pm
        Vermont_Donna
        Participant

          Hi Bruce,

          Good luck with your second round of ipi…..if you are in the same trial as me…how come you hadnt started your round two by now? We have the same oncologist. The trial I am in at DHMC is 12 weeks on, 12 weeks off. I will be starting my round two in mid May. I had great success, Ipi eradicated all of my cutaneous and subq tumors, about 50 to 60 of them, all in my right leg. So I did not have any organ involvement.

          I am hoping for you that the surgery you will have to remove the chest wall tumor, if thats what you end up doing.

          Keep up the good fight!

          Vermont_Donna, stage 3a

          stable (NED) after 4 infusions of Ipi

            • March 21, 2011 at 10:02 pm
            Bruce in NH
            Participant

              Hi Donna,

              When my scans in November showed the tumors to be stable, there was no need to restart the ipi program for round 2. However, by mid-February with the 50% growth in one tumor and another new one starting to grow, my options were to go straight to surgery on these two or retsart the ipi trial. As you know, our onc is very much a proponent of systemic treatment. He wants to eradicate all four tumors – so do I. So we opted to restart ipi in hopes the second time is the charm. I can feel the larger tumor under my left armpit and it's about the size of a small acorn. My wife thinks it's getting smaller but I think it's too early to tell. I'm happy with my decision and moving forward with the infusions for now. Thanks for responding and I'm glad to see your success with ipi – awesome!

              Bruce in NH

              • March 21, 2011 at 10:02 pm
              Bruce in NH
              Participant

                Hi Donna,

                When my scans in November showed the tumors to be stable, there was no need to restart the ipi program for round 2. However, by mid-February with the 50% growth in one tumor and another new one starting to grow, my options were to go straight to surgery on these two or retsart the ipi trial. As you know, our onc is very much a proponent of systemic treatment. He wants to eradicate all four tumors – so do I. So we opted to restart ipi in hopes the second time is the charm. I can feel the larger tumor under my left armpit and it's about the size of a small acorn. My wife thinks it's getting smaller but I think it's too early to tell. I'm happy with my decision and moving forward with the infusions for now. Thanks for responding and I'm glad to see your success with ipi – awesome!

                Bruce in NH

              • March 21, 2011 at 4:46 pm
              Vermont_Donna
              Participant

                Hi Bruce,

                Good luck with your second round of ipi…..if you are in the same trial as me…how come you hadnt started your round two by now? We have the same oncologist. The trial I am in at DHMC is 12 weeks on, 12 weeks off. I will be starting my round two in mid May. I had great success, Ipi eradicated all of my cutaneous and subq tumors, about 50 to 60 of them, all in my right leg. So I did not have any organ involvement.

                I am hoping for you that the surgery you will have to remove the chest wall tumor, if thats what you end up doing.

                Keep up the good fight!

                Vermont_Donna, stage 3a

                stable (NED) after 4 infusions of Ipi

                • March 21, 2011 at 8:58 pm
                Rocco
                Participant

                  Hey Bruce,

                  Good to see your post.  Glad to hear that your Onc is giving you another go with Ipi.  Great to hear that the other tumors are still stable!  Here's hoping and praying that the 2nd try kills off those pesky chest tumors!

                  -Rocco in NH

                    • March 21, 2011 at 10:06 pm
                    Bruce in NH
                    Participant

                      Thanks for your post, Rocco. You have been through the ringer so to speak for a long time, so to see you NED at this point is wonderful. I'll post again when I complete the infusions and next set of scans.

                      Take care,

                      Bruce in NH

                      • March 21, 2011 at 10:06 pm
                      Bruce in NH
                      Participant

                        Thanks for your post, Rocco. You have been through the ringer so to speak for a long time, so to see you NED at this point is wonderful. I'll post again when I complete the infusions and next set of scans.

                        Take care,

                        Bruce in NH

                      • March 21, 2011 at 8:58 pm
                      Rocco
                      Participant

                        Hey Bruce,

                        Good to see your post.  Glad to hear that your Onc is giving you another go with Ipi.  Great to hear that the other tumors are still stable!  Here's hoping and praying that the 2nd try kills off those pesky chest tumors!

                        -Rocco in NH

                        • March 21, 2011 at 10:26 pm
                        Sharyn
                        Participant

                          Hi Bruce,

                          Glad to see you got to restart ipi. I hope it kicks those tumors to the moon!  I did a 12 week round of ipi from Sept to Nov 2010, but during my 12 wk break, I developed a couple of new brain mets. One was radiated with SRS, the other was excised with a craniotomy (Feb 21). I should have restarted ipi by now, but all these brain issues have to be resolved first. I'm hoping to hear word in early April. I hope I'll have the same luck as you and get a second shot at it. Good luck in your fight.

                          Hugs

                          Sharyn

                          • March 21, 2011 at 10:26 pm
                          Sharyn
                          Participant

                            Hi Bruce,

                            Glad to see you got to restart ipi. I hope it kicks those tumors to the moon!  I did a 12 week round of ipi from Sept to Nov 2010, but during my 12 wk break, I developed a couple of new brain mets. One was radiated with SRS, the other was excised with a craniotomy (Feb 21). I should have restarted ipi by now, but all these brain issues have to be resolved first. I'm hoping to hear word in early April. I hope I'll have the same luck as you and get a second shot at it. Good luck in your fight.

                            Hugs

                            Sharyn

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