I'm a stage IV melanoma patient who had original diagnosis in 2002 at stage 1b, and went to stage IV in November 2010. I have two large tumors in my lungs, one in the hylum of my right lungs and one in the subcarinal region . I tried carboplatim and paclitaxol in Jan-Mar, then two rounds (two cycles each) of IL2 in May and August. The chemo only slowed the growth of the tumors for a few months. The IL2 shrunk the tumor in the subcarinal space by about 40% so far, but only stabilized the growth of the tumor in the hylum temporarily. It's growing again sl
I'm a stage IV melanoma patient who had original diagnosis in 2002 at stage 1b, and went to stage IV in November 2010. I have two large tumors in my lungs, one in the hylum of my right lungs and one in the subcarinal region . I tried carboplatim and paclitaxol in Jan-Mar, then two rounds (two cycles each) of IL2 in May and August. The chemo only slowed the growth of the tumors for a few months. The IL2 shrunk the tumor in the subcarinal space by about 40% so far, but only stabilized the growth of the tumor in the hylum temporarily. It's growing again slowly which is very frustrating.
While I'm considering next steps, I'm intrigued by the NanoKnife but don't see any other posts on the board about this. It uses irreversible electroporation to "melt" the tumor cells, but leaves other normal cells unharmed. Unlike cryo or other ablation technologies, it leaves no scar tissue. It seems like a great way to reduce or eliminate the tumor burden where my energized immune system is still not effective enough.
Two US hospitals with nanoknife experience (Baptist Health in MO and Beaumont in MI) have told me I'm not a candidate due to size and location. A hospital in Australia has indicated that it would take some work but that they can successfully ablate the hylum tumor.
I'm wondering if anybody has seriously considered this technology or has used it to reduce tumor burden. I've read several articles and seen the YouTube video from Shand at UF, but would appreciate some first-hand experience or the knowledge of others in the forum. Thanks in advance.
Curt
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