My husband's been on Taf/Mek since mid-April, and that worked brilliantly for about two months over the summer. His back pain came back terribly in early August and since then the docs have not been able to confirm the problem until the latest CT scan, which showed new lung nodules and a large liver lesion that weren't there 6 weeks ago.
His back and leg pain is clearly due to a soft-tissue lesion near his lumbar spine which is interfering with his nerves. They have done radiation there twice since April and the problem keeps returning. More radiation isn't an option, and of course Taf/Mek is now out too.
Our oncologist is looking into getting him on pembro and we might be able to private pay for him to go on ipi, too. It depends on what the province and our extended coverage are willing to cover for him. We're pressing for that since we think that's the best option still available to him.
He tried ipi/nivo in early April (just one infusion), but his cancer progressed so quickly that a week after the infusion, he was switched to Taf/Mek.
Hopefully this time the immunotherapy combo will work …
It's tough since he's not really able to walk anymore. He spends most of his day asleep. His appetite is also decreasing.
He hasn't had a brain MRI for about 2 months, but I'm a little nervous what they'll find there, too. He's becoming more forgetful. I used to attribute that to his very strong painkillers (methadone and fentanyl), but after today's news, I'm not so sure. He has 3 very small brain lesions (last we saw, anyway).
Thanks for all your help and support. I don't post often but I think of you guys all the time. I've found some emotional relief posting in a private young adult caregiver group through CancerCare.org so that's where my angsty, non-medical posts end up a lot of the time.
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