› Forums › General Melanoma Community › New Here – Fiancee Stage IV
- This topic has 9 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 14 years ago by
FormerCaregiver.
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- January 9, 2012 at 12:38 am
My fiancee Jeff was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma in June. To make a long story short he was in a truck accident in February and grew what we thought was a rather large hematoma in his armpit. He had it surgically removed in June and was diagnosed with Melanoma. They took out 21 lymphs with 11 of them being cancerous. They tried radiation to no avail. Meanwhile, another CT scan revealed liver mets that were growing rapidly. His oncologist started him on Carbo/Taxil since he was NOT BRAF mutant.
My fiancee Jeff was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma in June. To make a long story short he was in a truck accident in February and grew what we thought was a rather large hematoma in his armpit. He had it surgically removed in June and was diagnosed with Melanoma. They took out 21 lymphs with 11 of them being cancerous. They tried radiation to no avail. Meanwhile, another CT scan revealed liver mets that were growing rapidly. His oncologist started him on Carbo/Taxil since he was NOT BRAF mutant. (I can't even begin to describe what a disappointment hearing that was). He took to treatment right away with a 25% shrinkage of tumors. He continued treatment and after his last treatment in Dec a scan showed his liver tumors were the size of a pea. It also revealed he had some tumors in his lumbar spine. Before he was to have another treament on Jan 2 he had another scan that told us Carbo/Taxil stopped working. His tumors in his armpit and spine were stable, but new tumors showed up on his liver.
Jeff's doctor is trying to get HIRSP to cover Yervoy, he is actually doing whatever he can in his power to get Yervoy. God, I hope he can get Yervoy. His only other option would be Temodar. Jeff is only 35 years old. I come to this board looking for hope and to let Jeff know he is not alone fighting this beast that is melanoma.
I do have a question though. Can anyone tell me what could be causing the profuse sweating and clammy-ness Jeff has been experiencing this past week (the sweating has been going on for a little over a week now)?
Thank you for listening.
Sarah – Wisconsin
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- January 9, 2012 at 2:07 am
Sorry to hear about your finacee. as I am sure you are aware his situation is quite serious. He needs to be seeing a melanoma specialist who has access to clinical trials. There are a lot of trials going on right now that might very well help him. Did the doctor ever find the "primary" – in other words the original mole. If you are not with a melanoma specialist which it does not sound like you are, you can check this web site or the Melanona International Foundation site for a clinic closest to you.
Yervoy is a viable option for him and of course should be considered. The problem is that it takes a while to work for many people so it might not be the best choice in his case. That is why I really would like to see him have access to clinical trials.
The sweating is hard to tell without seeing a complete clood work-up or it could be realated to dicontinueing the treatments. This should be discussed with his doctor.
Good-luck and Keep in touch,
Mary
stage 3
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- January 9, 2012 at 3:09 am
His onc is working with a wonderful melanoma specialist in Madison regarding Jeff's case. This all has happened so fast. As far as Jeff goes, he looks wonderful. He lost his hair on Carbo/Tax but really hasnt lost weight and doesn't look sick, but he is. His Dr. feels he might do well on Yervoy since he took so well to Carbo. The waiting game to see if he can even get Yervoy is frustrating. The fact we have to beg for a medicine that could prolong his life greatly saddens me. Everyone fighing melanoma should have immediate access to whatever drug is out there.
His blood work has been within normal limits except his last workup had elevated liver enzymes which doc says is to be expected given the newer tumors found.
All hope isn't lost and we both remain positive. I really appreciate this message board being here.
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- January 9, 2012 at 3:09 am
His onc is working with a wonderful melanoma specialist in Madison regarding Jeff's case. This all has happened so fast. As far as Jeff goes, he looks wonderful. He lost his hair on Carbo/Tax but really hasnt lost weight and doesn't look sick, but he is. His Dr. feels he might do well on Yervoy since he took so well to Carbo. The waiting game to see if he can even get Yervoy is frustrating. The fact we have to beg for a medicine that could prolong his life greatly saddens me. Everyone fighing melanoma should have immediate access to whatever drug is out there.
His blood work has been within normal limits except his last workup had elevated liver enzymes which doc says is to be expected given the newer tumors found.
All hope isn't lost and we both remain positive. I really appreciate this message board being here.
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- January 9, 2012 at 3:09 am
His onc is working with a wonderful melanoma specialist in Madison regarding Jeff's case. This all has happened so fast. As far as Jeff goes, he looks wonderful. He lost his hair on Carbo/Tax but really hasnt lost weight and doesn't look sick, but he is. His Dr. feels he might do well on Yervoy since he took so well to Carbo. The waiting game to see if he can even get Yervoy is frustrating. The fact we have to beg for a medicine that could prolong his life greatly saddens me. Everyone fighing melanoma should have immediate access to whatever drug is out there.
His blood work has been within normal limits except his last workup had elevated liver enzymes which doc says is to be expected given the newer tumors found.
All hope isn't lost and we both remain positive. I really appreciate this message board being here.
-
- January 9, 2012 at 2:07 am
Sorry to hear about your finacee. as I am sure you are aware his situation is quite serious. He needs to be seeing a melanoma specialist who has access to clinical trials. There are a lot of trials going on right now that might very well help him. Did the doctor ever find the "primary" – in other words the original mole. If you are not with a melanoma specialist which it does not sound like you are, you can check this web site or the Melanona International Foundation site for a clinic closest to you.
Yervoy is a viable option for him and of course should be considered. The problem is that it takes a while to work for many people so it might not be the best choice in his case. That is why I really would like to see him have access to clinical trials.
The sweating is hard to tell without seeing a complete clood work-up or it could be realated to dicontinueing the treatments. This should be discussed with his doctor.
Good-luck and Keep in touch,
Mary
stage 3
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- January 9, 2012 at 2:07 am
Sorry to hear about your finacee. as I am sure you are aware his situation is quite serious. He needs to be seeing a melanoma specialist who has access to clinical trials. There are a lot of trials going on right now that might very well help him. Did the doctor ever find the "primary" – in other words the original mole. If you are not with a melanoma specialist which it does not sound like you are, you can check this web site or the Melanona International Foundation site for a clinic closest to you.
Yervoy is a viable option for him and of course should be considered. The problem is that it takes a while to work for many people so it might not be the best choice in his case. That is why I really would like to see him have access to clinical trials.
The sweating is hard to tell without seeing a complete clood work-up or it could be realated to dicontinueing the treatments. This should be discussed with his doctor.
Good-luck and Keep in touch,
Mary
stage 3
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- January 9, 2012 at 9:49 am
Sarah, welcome to our forum. Sorry to read about Jeff's diagnosis. I hope that he is will have access to Yervoy soon.
Some other options worth consideration are IL-2 (interleukin-2), an Anti PD-1 clinical trial, or TIL treatment (adoptive cell therapy).
I feel that profuse sweating and clammy-ness could be symptoms of an infection. Therefore, I think that a doctor should be consulted very soon, so that his condition can be medically evaluated.
Hope this helps
Frank from Australia
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- January 9, 2012 at 9:49 am
Sarah, welcome to our forum. Sorry to read about Jeff's diagnosis. I hope that he is will have access to Yervoy soon.
Some other options worth consideration are IL-2 (interleukin-2), an Anti PD-1 clinical trial, or TIL treatment (adoptive cell therapy).
I feel that profuse sweating and clammy-ness could be symptoms of an infection. Therefore, I think that a doctor should be consulted very soon, so that his condition can be medically evaluated.
Hope this helps
Frank from Australia
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- January 9, 2012 at 9:49 am
Sarah, welcome to our forum. Sorry to read about Jeff's diagnosis. I hope that he is will have access to Yervoy soon.
Some other options worth consideration are IL-2 (interleukin-2), an Anti PD-1 clinical trial, or TIL treatment (adoptive cell therapy).
I feel that profuse sweating and clammy-ness could be symptoms of an infection. Therefore, I think that a doctor should be consulted very soon, so that his condition can be medically evaluated.
Hope this helps
Frank from Australia
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