Need input on treatment options . . .

I am so sorry to hear your news Michelle.  Your assesment of the situation seems very accurate.  My father is 72.  He is still quite capable of making his own decisions, so if it were  him in this situation, I would have to support his decision.  I think that if you feel your father is also capableof making his own deicisions, that all you can do is educate him about the choices and support the decision he makes.  Those drugs do indeed come with side effects, but from what I've read on this board, the side effects vary from person to person.  Best case scenario, he would take Yervoy,  not have any side effects, respond and live for 20 plus years.  At some point you will have to accept his choice though.  I will be thinking about you and hope that whatever decision he makes will give you peace of mind. 

David

I am so sorry to hear your news Michelle.  Your assesment of the situation seems very accurate.  My father is 72.  He is still quite capable of making his own decisions, so if it were  him in this situation, I would have to support his decision.  I think that if you feel your father is also capableof making his own deicisions, that all you can do is educate him about the choices and support the decision he makes.  Those drugs do indeed come with side effects, but from what I've read on this board, the side effects vary from person to person.  Best case scenario, he would take Yervoy,  not have any side effects, respond and live for 20 plus years.  At some point you will have to accept his choice though.  I will be thinking about you and hope that whatever decision he makes will give you peace of mind. 

David

I am so sorry to hear your news Michelle.  Your assesment of the situation seems very accurate.  My father is 72.  He is still quite capable of making his own decisions, so if it were  him in this situation, I would have to support his decision.  I think that if you feel your father is also capableof making his own deicisions, that all you can do is educate him about the choices and support the decision he makes.  Those drugs do indeed come with side effects, but from what I've read on this board, the side effects vary from person to person.  Best case scenario, he would take Yervoy,  not have any side effects, respond and live for 20 plus years.  At some point you will have to accept his choice though.  I will be thinking about you and hope that whatever decision he makes will give you peace of mind. 

David

I’m so sorry to hear about your Dad. A few things to think about….Yervoy doesn’t have that high of a success rate. I think it’s about 10% or so, but when it works, it works well. My husband did Yervoy over the summer with no side effects, even though they scared us silly with all the possibities. All the side effects are treatable, but it is scary to think about. Temador is an older drug that doesn’t work well on melanoma..it’s typically used for brain mets. I think the percentage our melanoma specialist gave us was 5-6%. I think the side effects aren’t that bad with Temador.
It sounds like your Dad has made an educated decision, based on his age and current health. It might be worth getting a second opinion from a melanoma specialist to see any additional suggestions. The other option is Zelboraf, but he’d need to have one of his tumors removed to see if it has the Braf mutation. Zelboraf works fast, buys a few months, but has some uncomfortable side effects. There are also some pd-1 trials out there, but his age an underlying health issued would probably eliminate him from the trials.
It’s a difficult decision to make for anyone, and I’m sure difficult for you to accept. Or situation is so different because my husband is only 38 and we have 3 young kids. He’s fighting hard to be around as long as he can. Even at his age, and general “good” health, there are days he just struggles with the physical and emotional challenges of this cancer and the treatments. I couldn’t imagine dealing with it all at your father’s age.
Prayers to your family for your dad to make the right decision for him and for peace for you OT accept whatever decision he makes.

I’m so sorry to hear about your Dad. A few things to think about….Yervoy doesn’t have that high of a success rate. I think it’s about 10% or so, but when it works, it works well. My husband did Yervoy over the summer with no side effects, even though they scared us silly with all the possibities. All the side effects are treatable, but it is scary to think about. Temador is an older drug that doesn’t work well on melanoma..it’s typically used for brain mets. I think the percentage our melanoma specialist gave us was 5-6%. I think the side effects aren’t that bad with Temador.
It sounds like your Dad has made an educated decision, based on his age and current health. It might be worth getting a second opinion from a melanoma specialist to see any additional suggestions. The other option is Zelboraf, but he’d need to have one of his tumors removed to see if it has the Braf mutation. Zelboraf works fast, buys a few months, but has some uncomfortable side effects. There are also some pd-1 trials out there, but his age an underlying health issued would probably eliminate him from the trials.
It’s a difficult decision to make for anyone, and I’m sure difficult for you to accept. Or situation is so different because my husband is only 38 and we have 3 young kids. He’s fighting hard to be around as long as he can. Even at his age, and general “good” health, there are days he just struggles with the physical and emotional challenges of this cancer and the treatments. I couldn’t imagine dealing with it all at your father’s age.
Prayers to your family for your dad to make the right decision for him and for peace for you OT accept whatever decision he makes.

I’m so sorry to hear about your Dad. A few things to think about….Yervoy doesn’t have that high of a success rate. I think it’s about 10% or so, but when it works, it works well. My husband did Yervoy over the summer with no side effects, even though they scared us silly with all the possibities. All the side effects are treatable, but it is scary to think about. Temador is an older drug that doesn’t work well on melanoma..it’s typically used for brain mets. I think the percentage our melanoma specialist gave us was 5-6%. I think the side effects aren’t that bad with Temador.
It sounds like your Dad has made an educated decision, based on his age and current health. It might be worth getting a second opinion from a melanoma specialist to see any additional suggestions. The other option is Zelboraf, but he’d need to have one of his tumors removed to see if it has the Braf mutation. Zelboraf works fast, buys a few months, but has some uncomfortable side effects. There are also some pd-1 trials out there, but his age an underlying health issued would probably eliminate him from the trials.
It’s a difficult decision to make for anyone, and I’m sure difficult for you to accept. Or situation is so different because my husband is only 38 and we have 3 young kids. He’s fighting hard to be around as long as he can. Even at his age, and general “good” health, there are days he just struggles with the physical and emotional challenges of this cancer and the treatments. I couldn’t imagine dealing with it all at your father’s age.
Prayers to your family for your dad to make the right decision for him and for peace for you OT accept whatever decision he makes.

Hi Michelle,

I certainly understand how difficult this decision is for you and your family. We went through a similar experience when my dad  was given the option of Yervoy.  Dad is 83 and he is fairly healthy for his age. We decided that the potential benefits of Yervoy was worth the risks.  He was on Yervoy from mid Sept – mid November and his side effects were rash and significant itching.  After his last infusion in mid-November, he was hospitalized for 10 days because he was confused and weak because of the drop in his sodium level.  His oncologist think this was a side effect of Yervoy, it may have cause imflamation of one part of his brain that controls the sodium. He was given steroids at the hospital and sodium via IV.  Dad is ok now and we still dont know whether Yervoy works for him, it doesnt seem to work since his lesions on his leg, which are on the surface of his skin and are visible, haven't flattened out or regressed but they haven't gotten grown or gotten bigger either. His oncoligist told us that "older folks tend to have a more difficult time" with Yervoy. Yervoy side effects can also last for awhile, even after you are done with the treatment. My dad is still uncomfortable with the itchiness and still has to take itchiness meds.

I am not trying to scare you with what happened to my dad but Yervoy does have side effects and some side effects may not be known yet as the drug is still very new.  It was an easier decision for us because both mom and dad wanted the Yervoy treatment.  Good luck.

Chau 

Hi Michelle,

I certainly understand how difficult this decision is for you and your family. We went through a similar experience when my dad  was given the option of Yervoy.  Dad is 83 and he is fairly healthy for his age. We decided that the potential benefits of Yervoy was worth the risks.  He was on Yervoy from mid Sept – mid November and his side effects were rash and significant itching.  After his last infusion in mid-November, he was hospitalized for 10 days because he was confused and weak because of the drop in his sodium level.  His oncologist think this was a side effect of Yervoy, it may have cause imflamation of one part of his brain that controls the sodium. He was given steroids at the hospital and sodium via IV.  Dad is ok now and we still dont know whether Yervoy works for him, it doesnt seem to work since his lesions on his leg, which are on the surface of his skin and are visible, haven't flattened out or regressed but they haven't gotten grown or gotten bigger either. His oncoligist told us that "older folks tend to have a more difficult time" with Yervoy. Yervoy side effects can also last for awhile, even after you are done with the treatment. My dad is still uncomfortable with the itchiness and still has to take itchiness meds.

I am not trying to scare you with what happened to my dad but Yervoy does have side effects and some side effects may not be known yet as the drug is still very new.  It was an easier decision for us because both mom and dad wanted the Yervoy treatment.  Good luck.

Chau 

Hi Michelle,

I certainly understand how difficult this decision is for you and your family. We went through a similar experience when my dad  was given the option of Yervoy.  Dad is 83 and he is fairly healthy for his age. We decided that the potential benefits of Yervoy was worth the risks.  He was on Yervoy from mid Sept – mid November and his side effects were rash and significant itching.  After his last infusion in mid-November, he was hospitalized for 10 days because he was confused and weak because of the drop in his sodium level.  His oncologist think this was a side effect of Yervoy, it may have cause imflamation of one part of his brain that controls the sodium. He was given steroids at the hospital and sodium via IV.  Dad is ok now and we still dont know whether Yervoy works for him, it doesnt seem to work since his lesions on his leg, which are on the surface of his skin and are visible, haven't flattened out or regressed but they haven't gotten grown or gotten bigger either. His oncoligist told us that "older folks tend to have a more difficult time" with Yervoy. Yervoy side effects can also last for awhile, even after you are done with the treatment. My dad is still uncomfortable with the itchiness and still has to take itchiness meds.

I am not trying to scare you with what happened to my dad but Yervoy does have side effects and some side effects may not be known yet as the drug is still very new.  It was an easier decision for us because both mom and dad wanted the Yervoy treatment.  Good luck.

Chau