› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Stage IV – Yervoy, Gamma Knife for 25 Brain Mets
- This topic has 12 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 4 months ago by csellers23.
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- November 19, 2014 at 7:21 am
I wanted to share more good news with everyone. My Mom, who was diagnosed last year with stage IV and brain mets, got the news today from her neuro oncologist. He says that everything looks great with her brain and has given her the OK to start driving in December – unless something unexpected, like a seizure, occurs. – All she wants to do is to start driving again and she is thrilled!
Earlier this month her oncologist said that based on how she has responded to Yervoy (very quickly & all tumors) he believes that she is firmly in the group of people who, at 5 years, had needed no other treatment. – 92% of responders with durable long term responses, after 5+ years of tracking have had no other treatments and the 8% who needed additional treatment seem to respond to Keytruda ,as well as or better than, they did to Yervoy. So, we know the next step if one is needed.
We can't believe how lucky she's been from the diagnosis to the misdiagnosis to the treatment results. It's been less than a year since she began treatment and just a year since she was diagnosed and we are all very grateful for the terrific doctor's she's had and Yervoy and gamma knife.
I wish everyone had these results now, but am sure they are just around the corner.
HISTORY:
My Mom was diagnosed in November of 2013 (age 77) and after seeing 4 specialists (one of which diagnosed her with brain mets that a radiologist "overlooked") and thinking about the options she opted to go with gamma knife radiation for the 3 tumors we knew about and began Yervoy/ipi 4 days later. – On December 9th, the day of gamma knife, she had 8 treated, but a 9th which was thought to be blood vessels was in reality a brain met and not treated.
In short she had: 2 infusions, got colitis and thrush, had a few hospitalizations due to colitis, finally got the 3rd infusion, got colitis again and then a new radiologist (3rd) treated 17 new tumors in April…
No seizures, no cognitive dysfunction and EVERYTHING is still shrinking or gone…with no new brain mets and those that were treated are stable and some much smaller or seemingly gone.
—Terrific treatment at USC in Los Angeles with Dr. Wong and Dr. Chang.
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- November 19, 2014 at 3:36 pm
Good news Patina. Congratulations. I hope she will continue to be nice…
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- November 19, 2014 at 3:36 pm
Good news Patina. Congratulations. I hope she will continue to be nice…
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- November 19, 2014 at 3:36 pm
Good news Patina. Congratulations. I hope she will continue to be nice…
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- November 20, 2014 at 7:06 am
Patina, she's clearly doing really well, and that's great! Getting through colitis too. Keep on shrinking, and may the tumor-be-gone juice keep doing its thing!
– Kyle
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