› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Yervoy side effects on older patients
- This topic has 12 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 4 months ago by
Hereiam.
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- September 16, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Hi,
I just joined this bulletin board because the informaion here is very helpful.
My father is 83 years old and he was diagnosed with melanoma in June 2010. His tumor was on the sole of his foot. In July 2010, he had surgery to remove the tumor and at that time it was about 5mm. They also removed 3 lymph nodes in his groin area, two of which had melanoma.
Hi,
I just joined this bulletin board because the informaion here is very helpful.
My father is 83 years old and he was diagnosed with melanoma in June 2010. His tumor was on the sole of his foot. In July 2010, he had surgery to remove the tumor and at that time it was about 5mm. They also removed 3 lymph nodes in his groin area, two of which had melanoma.
In May 2011, he started having lesions on the skin of the same leg. These lesions started out small and have grown bigger and there are hundreds of them now. The doctor put him in a clinical trial for the drug dasatinib ( a targeted chemo drug I think) since he has the C-kit mutation. He was on it for two months and the doctor said that it is not working since the lesions have gotten bigger.
His melanoma is stage IIIC. His lesions are still on this lower leg. He has a couple on his upper thigh and one near the groin area. All of his lesions are on the same side where the tumor is. Two weeks ago, he had CT scans of his pelvis and chest and the doctor said the melanoma has not spread to his organs.
The doctor is now recommending Yervoy for treatment. We have alot of concerns about the side effects of Yervoy because of his age. He has high blood pressure which he is taking medication for and has asthma but generally in good health for his age. I know different people experience different side effects while on Yervoy but can anyone tell me if they know anyone in the same age range who took Yervoy and what side effects they have? I guess I am asking whether he can handle the side effects at his age (whether it will be fatal). We have to make a decision about whether we should go with Yervoy, Decarbazine, or no treatment.
I appreciate any insight you can give and thank you all for your help.
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- September 16, 2011 at 11:42 pm
Hi,
My father, 72, is currently stage IV and will start his 3rd treatment on Wednesday. Overall he has been ok..he has had a lot of night sweats, then chills and some minor abdominal pain (5 days after 1st treatment they were severe but have since subsided). He is also pretty fatigued.
My father is also on high blood pressure medicine. He seems to be handling the treatment pretty good overall.
Maggie
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- September 16, 2011 at 11:42 pm
Hi,
My father, 72, is currently stage IV and will start his 3rd treatment on Wednesday. Overall he has been ok..he has had a lot of night sweats, then chills and some minor abdominal pain (5 days after 1st treatment they were severe but have since subsided). He is also pretty fatigued.
My father is also on high blood pressure medicine. He seems to be handling the treatment pretty good overall.
Maggie
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- September 17, 2011 at 2:24 am
Hi Maggie,Thank you so much for replying. It is very helpful. If you don’t mind sharing, I have some follow up questions. What is the progress of your father’s melanoma after the first and second doses? Has his tumor shrink? When did you see the results, after the first or second dose?Also, was he on chemo or other treatment before going to Yervoy?
Thank you again.
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- September 17, 2011 at 2:24 am
Hi Maggie,Thank you so much for replying. It is very helpful. If you don’t mind sharing, I have some follow up questions. What is the progress of your father’s melanoma after the first and second doses? Has his tumor shrink? When did you see the results, after the first or second dose?Also, was he on chemo or other treatment before going to Yervoy?
Thank you again.
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- September 17, 2011 at 5:19 am
hi!
The scan is not done until 3 weeks after the last treatment so we will not know for sure until probably November 1st.
However, the tumor on his groin that was punch biopsies began shrinking after treatment 1 and is now gone. Scans to prove it will not take place though until 11/1/
Prior to this he had no treatment..back in 2006 he had a mole on his chest removed which was stage 11B then it came back as stage IV in 2010- long story short he went from a x-mas tree pet scan to a normal pet scan in 3 months due to this asparagus therapy we found (bizarre I know but it worked) so he was in complete remission for a year then it came back this past April '2011.
this website is awesome and we are all here to help!
Maggie
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- September 17, 2011 at 5:19 am
hi!
The scan is not done until 3 weeks after the last treatment so we will not know for sure until probably November 1st.
However, the tumor on his groin that was punch biopsies began shrinking after treatment 1 and is now gone. Scans to prove it will not take place though until 11/1/
Prior to this he had no treatment..back in 2006 he had a mole on his chest removed which was stage 11B then it came back as stage IV in 2010- long story short he went from a x-mas tree pet scan to a normal pet scan in 3 months due to this asparagus therapy we found (bizarre I know but it worked) so he was in complete remission for a year then it came back this past April '2011.
this website is awesome and we are all here to help!
Maggie
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- September 18, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Thanks Maggie. I didnt realize that scans are not done until the end of the 4th dose, that is good to know. I have heard that asparagus helps cancer but have not had a chance to start reading up on it. We are open to both conventional and alternative treatments but at this time, I think my father prefers the conventional meds.
As I mentioned before, his oncologist recommends Yervoy but we were told that DTIC is also an option. There is so much I need to learn about both and from what I read here, the side effects of Yervoy seems so much more severe than DTIC. It is such a hard decision.
I hope for the very best for your father with his Yervoy treatment.
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- September 18, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Thanks Maggie. I didnt realize that scans are not done until the end of the 4th dose, that is good to know. I have heard that asparagus helps cancer but have not had a chance to start reading up on it. We are open to both conventional and alternative treatments but at this time, I think my father prefers the conventional meds.
As I mentioned before, his oncologist recommends Yervoy but we were told that DTIC is also an option. There is so much I need to learn about both and from what I read here, the side effects of Yervoy seems so much more severe than DTIC. It is such a hard decision.
I hope for the very best for your father with his Yervoy treatment.
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- September 17, 2011 at 2:25 am
Hi Maggie, Thank you so much for replying. It is very helpful. If you don't mind sharing, I have some follow up questions. What is the progress of your father's melanoma after the first and second doses? Has his tumor shrink? When did you see the results, after the first or second dose?Also, was he on chemo or other treatment before going to Yervoy? Thank you again.
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- September 17, 2011 at 2:25 am
Hi Maggie, Thank you so much for replying. It is very helpful. If you don't mind sharing, I have some follow up questions. What is the progress of your father's melanoma after the first and second doses? Has his tumor shrink? When did you see the results, after the first or second dose?Also, was he on chemo or other treatment before going to Yervoy? Thank you again.
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- September 19, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Hi,
I am very sorry for your dad, and I really hope he gets better!
Unfortunately, I cannot help you in giving feedback about Yervoy, cuz I haven`t experienced it. But my dear friend had melanoma stage IV in 2006 and after the surgery she started to use virotherapy (cuz her doctor advised that it has rather small side-effects and it activates immune system). In Latvia it is done with the help of a real virus called Rigvir. As far as I know, she really did not have a seviere side-effects to this therapy. So, maybe consult your father`s doctor about different possibilities, and be hopefult that there is medicine which does not make side-effects on your dad!
the best wishes for recovery!
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- September 19, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Hi,
I am very sorry for your dad, and I really hope he gets better!
Unfortunately, I cannot help you in giving feedback about Yervoy, cuz I haven`t experienced it. But my dear friend had melanoma stage IV in 2006 and after the surgery she started to use virotherapy (cuz her doctor advised that it has rather small side-effects and it activates immune system). In Latvia it is done with the help of a real virus called Rigvir. As far as I know, she really did not have a seviere side-effects to this therapy. So, maybe consult your father`s doctor about different possibilities, and be hopefult that there is medicine which does not make side-effects on your dad!
the best wishes for recovery!
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