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Going Beyond Standard Immunotherapy
Lung Cancer | Last Active: Sep 14, 2021 | Replies (42)Comment receiving replies
I’m not sure this is the right place to post this but have to start somewhere. To Merry, the young lady with lung cancer taking Keytruda. In June 2019 I was diagnosed with stage IV NSCLC, it was in my lymph nodes on my spine and a tumor in my head. The Oncologist looked my wife and I straight in the eyes and announced “you have 6 months, maybe a year, if your lucky”. I remember getting angry, “who do you think your talking too”? After 3 rounds of chemo, I told the Dr no more, the side effects made a complete invalid out of me. I wasn’t willing to live that way. We went on immunotherapy Keytruda after an MRI that showed very little, if any, improvement. Aug 2019 MRI showed a considerable shrinkage in the tumor. At that time I started a regiment of unprescribed medication in addition to Immunotherapy/Keytruda. Dec 2019 the lymph nodes were clear, the tumor had shrunk considerably. I continued this treatment and a PET scan in May 2020 showed I was cancer free, it was ALL gone. The Dr referred to me as a miracle. As of today I am still cancer free and intent staying on Keytruda as long as I can. I got the same 2 year limit on Keytruda but am going to challenge that. So, Merry, never give up, never. I was 79 years old when diagnosed, am now 81. I’ve learned prayers work. I sincerely hope this helps in some small way.
Replies to "I’m not sure this is the right place to post this but have to start somewhere...."
@dutchw- Good morning and Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Thank you for sharing your story. I am a mentor for Mayo Connect's Lung Cancer and Lung Diseases. I have an unusual lung cancer called Multifocal Adenocarcinoma. I have survived two types of lung cancer for 23+ years and have never had immunotherapy, although I have had chemotherapy. I am sorry if I have given the impression that I have taken this wonderful drug.
@miriam57; @richcolleen- I have found that many people who have finished their two years on Keytruda are followed very closely with CT scans. I am at a loss to tell you that there are other drugs right now that will maintain you. Keytruda is "Humanized antibodies" This means that they are antibodies from non-human species whose protein sequences have been modified to increase their similarity to antibody variants produced naturally in humans. I certainly hope that the positive outcomes for many people who have taken this drug will see many more and maybe even a possibility for a maintenance program. I just don't know of any at this time.
The developers for Keytruda limited the study to two years. There was a lot of competition between several drug makers for the success of such a drug. You can read more of this here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembrolizumab
The reason that I am suggesting that you read Wikipedia about your drug is so that you can see why there was a 2-year limit.
I am very glad that this drug's targeted population has expanded into many cancers.
https://www.keytruda.com/
Hola, fue la inmunoterapia la que le ayudo?
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Thank you for sharing this information. Keytruda has been brought to me as an option. My question, if two years is the limit, what happens after that?