Melonoma 3C and Keytruda 12 vx 24 months

@grammato3
I found it very interesting but my doctor insists I stay on keytruda. This could have something to do with this being my 4th cancer in 10 years with breast, thyroid, stage 3 melonoma on my arm which metastasized to stage 4
in my lung.

@jaxthecat: there is also a great deal of professional medical literature on this but the article link was a bit easier to understand.

I’d mentioned that personally I had been taken off Keytruda after 10 treatments due to signs of toxicity (and as noted had achieved a durable response to date). Interestingly, studies have also shown that such responses appear to demonstrate a strongly activated immune system that's generally associated with better outcomes. In my case, I’m continually with regular three month imaging surveillance; should a recurrence be detected and my colitis continues to be controlled, I can resume immunotherapy.

In any event, has this helped your original question about your own duration of treatment?

It sounds like you have been dealing with many side-effects to date so this could be a worthwhile conversation to have. Is this @songinmyheart54: In many cases, even with a history of multiple cancers, the long-term benefits can be maintained beyond the two year course of Keytruda. You may be kept on it longer because there is a greater risk of immune-related adverse events (iAEs) returning when restarting if metastasis is detected again. However, this sounds like a discussion best had with your doctor to better understand the medical rationale as it's up to them to weigh the risk of recurrence - of any cancer - against the risk of long-term or recurrent toxicity.
something you would like to talk about with your provider?