@joetex: I'm glad to hear you were able to have your sons listen in to your appointment with the oncologist. I'm curious as to the type of melanoma you have, if you're open to sharing, and the rationale your provider has for stating that there is no evidence of increased survival from immunotherapy.

As far as I have learned, researched and been informed by health care experts, the survival rates as a result of immunotherapy have yielded such excellent results to the extent - even amongst the otherwise healthy older population (those without significant comorbidities or illnesses) while that melanoma had previously been considered a terminal condition it has now become in many cases a highly treatable condition and often curable chronic condition. This may be something worth clarifying at your next visit. Additionally, the most common way to measure response is through Imaging and Response Tracking that typically involves labs and imaging such as CT, MRI and PET scans. Again, this is something to be discussed further with your oncologist along with the afore mentioned risks vs benefits of immunotherapy.

Perhaps it would help to write down these questions to discuss with your sons and care team. When will you be meeting with them next?

@joetex : My oncologist wrote up a memo of what we discussed when we first met with him on the courses of treatments depending on what was discovered in tests and scans. In this memo he stated "For patients with stage IIB melanoma, the odds of cure without any additional postoperative treatment are approximately 70%. We improve the odds of cure with immunotherapy after surgery (excision) to approximately 85%." I'll follow up with this with him on Wednesday as well as side effects.