Hi! I traveled to Chicago yesterday to receive another dose of ipilumumab or, as Dr. Richards calls it, "ipi" (rhymes with "hippy"). Cee Cee, who is the wife of my good friend Tony Popanz and the mother of my god-daughters Allie and Chloe, served as my chauffeur and companion for the day. The infusion was uneventful, and the only side effect I've felt so far is the need for an afternoon nap.
Some of you may wonder why the doctor would put me back on a trial medication to which I had previously shown no response. The reason is that ipi has proved to be unique in the way that patients respond to it. Unlike traditional melanoma treatments, which produce immediate results and that must be discontinued eventually because of the harm they do to the body, ipi actually builds an immune response that--in a growing number of trial patients--reveals itself gradually over a period of several months. According to a recent evaluation of melanoma trial treatments, ipi is showing a "pattern of responses that has never been seen before: some patients have slow regression of old lesions and then develop new lesions, which then shrink; some patients show a slow regression over a long period, with a partial response at 6 months; and some patients show progression of disease followed by regression."
Because these positive responses failed to materialize during the first 12 or 24 weeks of treatment, the drug manufacturers had to take patients off the ipi and out of the clinical trials. Fortunately, doctors who administer the trials noticed that many of these "failed" patients were showing disease regression long after receiving their last dose of ipi. Thanks to the diligence of these doctors, patients like me can return to the trials for continued treatment. Hopefully, ipi will prove to have even better response rates with prolonged usage.
Anyway, I won't know much about how ipi is working for me until I go back for CT scans in 12 weeks. That means I get to enjoy our lovely Wisconsin summer without thinking too much about cancer. Or so I pray.
Jeff
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3 comments:
Glad to hear that your ipi went uneventful! Hope you're having a wonderful 4th of July with the kids!
Love you,
MM
It is great to hear that the ipi dose went well. It sounds interesting how it all works. Glad it is working for you. Your awesome attitude still never ceases to amaze me. Keep smiling and enjoying!
Sending prayers your way!
Kara Smith
Jeff,
It sounds like all the unique responses that people have to the ipi are good. It's good to know that it may just take some time but there is hope. I am not sure if you are an impatient person but I really am and with Jake ITP it too has proved to take a long time to respond to his medicine. What I have learned is that EVERYBODY is different and are different in how they respond to medicine. I am also really learning patience. What I have learned from your story is that I too can't loose hope for Jake, since there was hope for you getting back on your treatment plan, and that there is still hope for Jake as well, it may just take more time than I had hoped. Thanks for the uplifting update, and I am really glad that the treatment is back on and hopefully you will have great scans next time around. It's also nice that you can be worry free (as best you can) for most of the summer. Enjoy and take care.
Terri
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