Stewsbetty wrote:
Yea! Yea! Yea! So excited to hear this. I hope to join you in the future!
Beth
Those on immunotherapy , what else are you doing besides keytruda or opdivo with regards to lifestyle , supplements, diet etc.
Stewsbetty wrote:
Yea! Yea! Yea! So excited to hear this. I hope to join you in the future!
Beth
henry123 wrote:Stewsbetty wrote:
Yea! Yea! Yea! So excited to hear this. I hope to join you in the future!
Beth
Those on immunotherapy , what else are you doing besides keytruda or opdivo with regards to lifestyle , supplements, diet etc.
Stewsbetty wrote:henry123 wrote:Stewsbetty wrote:
Yea! Yea! Yea! So excited to hear this. I hope to join you in the future!
Beth
Those on immunotherapy , what else are you doing besides keytruda or opdivo with regards to lifestyle , supplements, diet etc.
Hi Henry,
I haven’t changed a lot. I quit drinking pop on a regular basis and have added in more variety of fruits and vegetables. I now attend a weekly weight loss group to keep me accountable for maintaining my present healthy weight.
Definitely trying to keep stress levels down but have found my sleep a bit erratic. Think that might not be very healthy for me.
I haven’t added in any supplements because I have very little discipline for taking pills/extras and because of their expense. Putting any extra into healthy, organic fruits and veggies.
I have always been a person of faith but have moved deeper since dx.
I noticed from your signature that you have been juicing and I think it said vegan?
Beth
Stewsbetty wrote:henry123 wrote:Hi Henry,
Unfortunately, I have KRAS mutation, wondering to know if you have the KRAS mutation or the Wild type, since you have KRAS mutation how long have you been taking Keytruda? Dr. told me that there are no immunotherapy for the CRC with KRAS mutation, just wondering if its really true?
Hello Beth,
Wishing you well. I am sure it will help you and Keytruda will smash the disease away.
Are you getting the treatment in BC only? What sort of costs are there.
Has it been approved in Canada?
Thanks.
Hi Henry, yes I am getting the treatment in BC. It has not been approved in Canada for MSI cancers yet so I had to push my oncologist to get it. It is $8800 per dose if you follow the US FDA approved dose of 200 mg every 3 weeks. I applied for the compassionate care program through Merck and was originally denied. Then my husband’s extended health insurance approved it at 80%. My local hospital found 3 doses left over from a previous patient and gave those to me. After they worked so well the pharmacist resubmitted my application to Merck and I got a call last week saying they would provide the drug free to me. This is such great news! Now there is no longer any financial burden on my family.
So glad for this site and Dr. Tom’s blog that introduced me to the idea of immunotherapy. After failing Folfiri I asked my Dr for a prognosis if the Keytruda didn’t work. She said I probably wouldn’t make it to Christmas. So thankful that i am responding so well on the Keytruda and may now live for years.
Beth
boxhill wrote:I was on Keytruda from 12/31/19 until around 6/20. Stopped because an MRI finally confirmed that I was NED as shown by multiple CTs. Hoping that my arthalgia will improve. I did nothing to change or add supplements.
My next MRI, assuming that it is approved by insurance, will be 8/11/20. If it continues to be NED, we will proceed from there.
Maia wrote:Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and nivolumab (Opdivo) are a type of immunotherapy, both approved some months ago, as monotherapy, for those with CRC whose MS status is MSI-high (about a 10% of the CRC are MSI high). For the majority of the CRC patients, who are MSS, those agents and similar are being tested in combinations --that is: immunotherapy + [something else]. You have a link to a clinical trial finder in my signature line; the finder is curated by Tom Marsilje --DK37 in this forum.
And there are many ablation options and other treatments for the liver. It depends of where you are located, if you can travel, etc.
boxhill wrote:Yvette, as you can see from my sig, I have a KRAS mutation. To my knowledge, KRAS mutations are irrelevant to use of immunotherapies such as Keytruda and Opdivo/Yervoy.
What KRAS mutation does rule out are EFGR-related targeted therapies, such as Erbitux and Vectibix.
You need to find out whether your mother is MSS or MSI, for starters. MSI tumors generally respond better to immunotherapy, although there are *some* MSS that also do so due to particular genetic mutations and/or a higher than usual TMB (tumor mutation burden).
If your mother is an obvious immunotherapy candidate, it doesn't make sense IMHO not to use it. But a) I am not a doctor, and b) I don't know the details of your mother's case.
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