I'm a 48 yo male in Southern California. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 NSC Adenocarcinoma of the lung one year ago. I had metastasis to the other lung, the adrenal glands, my occipital skull bone, and lymph nodes. The news was grim. I wrote out my will and started looking for a home for my dog.
The oncology department at UCSD called me and asked me to come and see them--that they thought they could help me, A LOT! I agreed, and dragged myself to the Moore's Cancer Center in La Jolla, feeling half-dead, and probably not far from it. I met my doctor, who has been outstanding, and he told me that a molecular profile of my cancer had already been done, and it showed a high percentage of PD-L positive cancer cells. He said he thought I would respond to Keytruda. I went home and waited for the funding to get approved. I wondered if I would make it through, as I was starting to have some pain and walking up the stairs to my second floor apartment had me gasping for breath.
They got everything together for me in record time. It was less than a month after my diagnosis that I was in the infusion center, getting my first treatment. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. I was very tired after the first treatment. I went home and slept for 11 hours. When I woke up the next day, I felt so much better, no pain, and a sense of calm had come over me. Things got a little better each day. By the end of the second week, I was feeling like my old self again--good enough to drive out to Vegas to visit some friends. I kept waiting for the side effects, but none ever came. Ever! The first set of scans showed a dramatic decrease in all of the tumors. They just keep shrinking, and I still feel great.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Keytruda is a MIRACLE drug. There is no question that I would have been dead many months ago if it were not for this treatment. I still have my hair, I still have no side effects, and I still get a treatment every 3 weeks, which is easy and creates very little disruption to my life. This year I have written and published a book, took a 7 week road trip around the United States, and am living life to the fullest! It rarely occurs to me that I have cancer. I don't look like a cancer patient. I don't feel like a cancer patient, and after a few more months of success, I more than likely won't be a cancer patient.
I just want everyone to know that no matter how bad things might seem when you're diagnosed, anything can happen. My greatest wish is that everyone who has cancer could be helped as much as I have been. People talk about this being the "fight of my life," but no. It hasn't been a fight at all. It's just something that's gone on in the background while I was living my life. The real heroes are the brave men, women, and children who fight with everything they have, only to lose in the end.
I gave it all to God, trusted Him, and made up my mind that this wasn't going to stop me. Many people prayed for me. Thanks to our good God, a good attitude, and some good medicine, I'm doing great. May God bless and keep you all! Prayers and hugs!
Written by
TCinSanDiego
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Hi you have a fantastic attitude. Keep up. They have so many new treatments and more coming out.I'm happy things are working for you
I was stage3 inlympnodes they removed upper lobe on left side and wanted me to do radiation i turned it down and did 6 month's of chemo am now a 6 year lung cancer survivor. With your attitude i believe you'll go a long way .ii called mine. A miracle hope you keep up your great attitude. Remember never give up have faith and fight that will take you a long way..if you need to talk I'm here and so is every one on here. Will be here for you everyone on here will be here for you.
Thank you so much for sharing your story! You are a perfect example of why every lung cancer patient should get genomic testing done. Wishing you many more years of living life to the fullest.
I am a survivor like you, stage 4 NSCLC adenocarcinoma as well. I also had a wonderful team of doctors, a great amount of faith, and supportive friends and family. I was diagnosed in 2013 and in remission since 2016. I have two very small lesions on both parietal bones of skull which no one thinks is cancer since there has been no growth or changes. Just monitoring. I did have a spinal tap to check for cancer which was clear. What did your skull metastasis show up like? Lesions or tumors? And have they gone away?
Yes, I haven’t had any treatments since 2016. I had several months of carboplatin and alimta, then 7 months of Xalkori and 5 months of Zykadia, followed by Alimta every three weeks for over a year. When no evidence of cancer anywhere and scar tissue only was where the cancer had once been, I stopped treatments. I still get scans every three weeks. Next one due in March.
WOW! What a great story. So glad you are putting it our there because there really is hope in the newest treatments, and we need to hear the success stories.
Congratulations on your great response with Keytruda.
I was diagnosed with stage 4 non small-cell lung cancer in March of 2015 and because of Opdivo which I started later that year, after FDA approval I am now happily stable and have been for over two and a half years. I'm off treatment and doing pretty well, I do have some side effects muscle and joint pain and of course awful fatigue but it is so much better than the diagnosis I started with when I had a brain tumor, lung tumors and a pulmonary embolism.
I've come a long way I feel very lucky and thankful. I think we all need to think positive and hope that are treatments for work well, I also think of Opdivo as my miracle drug, I wish it worked this well for everybody.
Wow..that's a fantastic result for you. Thank you for sharing.
My partner, Jim, aged 72, was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in Feb 2018. He was offered chemo but after thinking long and hard about it, decided not to have it. He was concerned that the side-effects would be worse than the benefits, as his oncologist told him that each session would give him approximately 3 extra months of life.
He started using CBD oils and vapes, and also started on a regime of using alternative plant-based dietary supplements. Herbal teabags (8 different ones in a pint pot including turmeric, echinacea, ginger, garlic and others twice daily), herb-based tablets containing the same and cut out dairy foods by using alternative vegan products. His oncologist said that these would not harm him although he was sceptical that any of it would help with cancer.
In April 2018, he told Jim that, in his opinion, he had only 6 months to live and then in October (by which time he should have been dead), they found a 0.5cm Met in his brain.
He was referred to the palliative care team, but as he was still feeling "well", all options, including hospice intervention, were put on hold.
In November, he started to have problems with his coordination and dragging his right leg. We went back to the oncologist, who stated that this may be the beginning of the end for him but put him on steroids. He also, at this point, discharged Jim because he felt that he could offer little in the way of treatment.
Jim's improvement on the steroids was almost immediate and he felt "on top of the world". At no time has he suffered any pain and he says that he does not feel as if he has cancer. He still goes out quite often and continues to enjoy his life.
At a recent routine appointment with his GP, who was amazed to see how well he was, we asked for a further consultation with the oncologist, who agreed to see him, because Jim wanted to discuss the possibility of radiotherapy for the brain met.
On Monday of this week, we went to see him and he said that it was wonderful to see how well he was doing, especially as he had not had any chemo. He also said that Jim had proved to be an inspiration and given him food for thought about his use of alternative therapies.
He prescribed him some antibiotics for an outbreak of thrush (a side-effect of the steroids), took his bloods and arranged a further chest x-ray. He is also awaiting a further CT scan on his brain and will go back to see the oncologist in 3 weeks time.
We don't know what the results will show - it may be worse or it may be better - either way, we are prepared to deal with whatever comes. What we have seen is a complete turnaround in the way the oncologist is dealing with Jim. No longer is he pessimistic, but rather very optimistic and happy to do whatever he can to assist Jim in his quest to remain "Chemo-free"!
Jim chose to go his own way and he has now beaten all the statistics for surviving stage IV lung cancer with brain mets for over 12 months, without chemo. His positive outlook and sheer stubborn attitude are what has got him through it. He is determined to beat it and at the very least "go down fighting"!
Positive mental attitude and a willingness to keep on fighting go a long way in winning the battle.
Well done to you and very best luck for the future!
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