Little Pat

It is so nice that there are finally some new treatments out there to be excited about.  Congrats on the good news. Keep us posted.

Ipilimumub in my opinion is an option to be very hopeful about. IL-2 is also an option. It can actually cure about one in 20 patients. I know those aren't great odds, but it can happen. I've met people who have had incredible responses with IL-2.

Have they tested your tumor for c-kit. Tumors that express c-kit may respond to Gleevec.

Carbo + taxol chemotherapy is becoming more popular in the United States. It is probably at least as effective as dacarbazine. Abraxane is a newer chemotherapy drug that has also shown some promise (I'm not sure if it is available in Australia).

Good luck and God bless you,

Pat M

Ipilimumub in my opinion is an option to be very hopeful about. IL-2 is also an option. It can actually cure about one in 20 patients. I know those aren't great odds, but it can happen. I've met people who have had incredible responses with IL-2.

Have they tested your tumor for c-kit. Tumors that express c-kit may respond to Gleevec.

Carbo + taxol chemotherapy is becoming more popular in the United States. It is probably at least as effective as dacarbazine. Abraxane is a newer chemotherapy drug that has also shown some promise (I'm not sure if it is available in Australia).

Good luck and God bless you,

Pat M

The drugs used to increase white blood cells are leukine, neupogen and neulasta. In melanoma patients leukine is the preferred drug because it may help fight the melanoma itself. The side effects of these drugs are usually mild (especially compared with chemotherapy). I'd be very surprised if you would require hospitalization because of the shots (hospitalization from the chemo itself is a possibility).

Good luck and God bless you.

It is true that sometimes one area of mets will respond and another will not. That being said I think it is extremely encouraging that the SubQ lesions have improved. Best wishes to you.