Starting immunotherapy Keytruda

Hello sglaza,
Thank you. I am glad you are on the other side of surgery and chemotherapy. I am scheduled for 4 rounds. I would rather go only 3 also, but maybe my stage 2B had something to do w/ that. ??

Lucky you in beautiful Arizona at the Mayo clinic. I got standard handouts, but was not encouraged to journal or record, but I did. I was so overwhelmed with all the meds, the diet, the side effects. I'm not used to such detailed self-care management and it was more work than I thought it would be. It also felt good to record my emotional state to vent and scream quietly. (My spouse tells me that I am not a person who gives up control easily.)

The first 3 days were manageable w/ anti emetics, esp. a low dose of olanzapine at night; I flipped zofran and compezine ev 3 hrs if I was aware of my stomach. Thought I made it homefree and "done" until day 4 through 6 when Mother Nature showed no mercy. I was in constant breakthrough and recovery mode stomach wise & got exhausted. I'm going to talk with the NP tomorrow about those days. Supposedly, patients quickly forget days 4 -6, an oncologist informed me on You Tube, so recordkeeping pays off to manage things better.

Yes, the diet, quantities, hydration, and rest you noted were spot on. Initially, I asked my oncologist what I could eat while on chemo and she said, "Anything you want." Well, that is not true which perplexes me. One night I ate beans and that was mistake. No one told me to use Miralax but I did that luckily. People can end up in the ER for that I read. Yes, listen to my body. We navigate the best we can, I get it.

Yes the symptoms that may become long term do concern me. I want to live my next years with a quality of life, not deaf, blind or frustrated, and so on. My NP is very young, has been doing this for just a few yrs. I'm guessing. When I asked him about the long-term effects of hearing loss and vision loss that he knew about, he said he had "seen none." I told him that if he continues in oncology for the next 30 years, he will probably see some ex patients with it.

Thank you for taking the time to respond and giving me encouragement. Made my day. It is a journey, yes.

Again, I am glad you are on the other side and may you have a joyful holiday season that is coming up. --Bb

Hi dougmck,
My husband had three treatments of Keytruda but he started having symptoms from the first. It took him about 7 months to completely recover from Pancreatitis. He refused any further Keytruda treatments and prior to this he refused anymore chemotherapy treatments also because he was too sick from them. He was only supposed to live 5 years when he was first diagnosed. However, he lived 14 years thanks to a lot of prayers, good food including good quality red meat and a quiet life style; staying away from crowds. I would suggest doing a lot of research before you get the treatments. That way you can make a decision that fits you. The Mayo Clinic is a good place to start and just do a search on Google for "Keytruda side effects". It will give you a lot of places to research. Keytruda is also known as Pembrolizumab. You may see that in your research.

My husband had very good health insurance through his union. We didn't have to pay anything past the co-pay which was rather minimal. However, at $25,000 per infusion which are twice a month, how long is the insurance going to meet this cost with the number of cancer patients increasing? That medication can't cost the medical community that much.

I wish you the best. I will say a prayer for you.
PML

@pml so sorry about your husband.
Why was he on 2. Infusions a month. That is more than I have ever heard of anyone getting. Usually it's every 3 weeks.