Melanoma: What are your tips about immunotherapy (Keytruda)?

Hello @charlene9 .
My husband was on Keytruda for bladder cancer. In the 5 months he was on it, he really lost his appetite because foods just didn't taste right. He was quite tired for a few days after the infusions. He ended up hypothyroid and now takes thyroid supplement daily. His highly aggressive urothelial cell carcinoma wasn't fazed by Keytruda and with his side effects it was stopped. I was on a similar drug Libtayo for 2 years for my metastatic squamous cell carcinoma form head and neck origin. It is also a pd-1 blocker. I had the same food taste issues and fatigue but it was quite tolerable. The drug shrunk my latest met to the kidney and lymph nodes and it has not come back yet and I have been off it for a year. I hope you get an equally successful response from Keytruda.
Keep a positive attitude by looking ahead to something positive. When you are battling cancer it helps to make short term goals to meet, a graduation or wedding of a family member, a grandchild's birth, just activities you enjoy in the change of seasons, whatever you can think of. Crossing these goals off as you meet them helps you to see how far you have come. Even without a cure, there are new medications and treatments available all the time to help us live with our cancer. Just keep kicking the can down the road, one kick at a time. Be strong.

Interesting to note That former president Jimmy Carter was 90 years old diagnosed with Melanoma and went through treatments of Keytruda and was cured and lived to be a 100

@williamfh, have you had the biopsy? Any update? How are you doing?

To Charlene 9. I have been on Keytruda for kidney cancer for a year now with 5 more infusions to go for a total of 18. For me the only side effect up until now has been severe skin rash. The malignant tumor has reduced in size slightly and cancer has not spread.

I was diagnosed with melanoma had the middle lobe of my right lung removed. The oncologist is going to start me on immunotherapy keytruda. Everyone asks three weeks does anyone have any experience with this drug. And how do you cope with all of this

Just had the 2nd tumor taken out on my arm. After a pet scan nothing showed up in my body, other than a small, small spot on my arm again, but so small they couldn’t feel it or couldn’t pick it up on the ultra sound… so nothing happened at that spot. Will be doing a biopsy on the tumor to see if the immunal therapy is working.

Thanks I will. I'm going in every 6 weeks with 400 MG

PS Best of luck with your surgery! I've read there are excellent results with this type of approach. Be sure to keep us posted.

I go for my 5th infusion of 200 mg tomorrow, another 3 weeks after that then I graduate to 6 weeks 400 mg.

The way I see thus metastatic melanoma and can explain it is it’s as if Freddie Krueger is lurking around in my body. I won this first installment but he might be hiding somewhere stirring up some trouble where he remains undetected and I’ve got to keep my defenses up, ready to pounce in case he strikes again - or hopefully prevent him from getting strong or courageous enough to strike again!

Oh Wow!!! YEA! I just had my second one yesterday and am scheduled for resection to take out the tumor March 4th. So they are saying immunotherapy for 2 years? And you have only had 3 so far? Are yours 3 weeks apart at 200mg or 6 weeks apart at 400mg? Seems if it had a full resolution after the scan you would just finish out the year? What's the reasoning?