Combo#4 Behind me!
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Combo#4 Behind me!

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Combo#4 Behind me!

  • Post
    • August 10, 2018 at 10:45 pm
    MelanomaMike
    Participant

      Hello Family, well, combo#4 of Ipi & Nivo is rushing through my veins as we type {or read}, thank God cuz now we can focus on a date for my 1st CT Scan since i started ipi/nivo, and see if these damn Melanoma Taliban mofo's are still inside my lungs, plus im happy that my once "3 hour" infusion will be only a  "1 hour" infusion cuz im done with the Yervoy!!, {wheres my cert? wheres my cert?! hahah.. like you know, Yervoy is generaly given 4-times, then we will contiue the Opdivo till further notice…So far i feel ok, combo #3 had me feeling beat down 3 weeks ago! like right afterwards to!, took my Hydrocortisones and Advils and woke up the next day feeling fine…

      Well folks, gotta go, i hope yer all feeling fine & keeping yer own side effects to a low roar, have a good weekend ok?…Love ya guys, Mike..

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    • Replies
        • August 11, 2018 at 12:44 am
        BillB
        Participant

          Mike, glad you’re done with the yervoy, opdivo should be much kinder to you’re body and take you through the rest of the battle. Have a great weekend,

          Bill

            • August 11, 2018 at 1:15 am
            MelanomaMike
            Participant

              Thanx brother Bill, and the "extra" time ill have back in my life to! that combo was like 3hrs including the ocean water, like Keytruda before, Opdivo is 30 minutes plus a lil flush of the ol Sodium & im outta there!..im a very antsy dude…

            • August 11, 2018 at 2:36 am
            Ridingaroundwith27Jennifers
            Participant

              Hi Mike,

              Congrats on being able to take 4 combo doses.  I could only tolerate 2.  I'm still on Opdivo but they recently went from 1 hour infusion to 30 min.  Basically they doubled the flow rate so I get the same amount of drug just faster.  You might ask your docs about it.  I'm doing every 2 weeks not every 4 so that might be another difference.  BTW, love that your cat is in your profile picture.  We lost our cat three years ago but are thinking of adopting soon.

              Good wishes to you.

              Jennifer

                • August 11, 2018 at 5:27 am
                MelanomaMike
                Participant

                  Thanx Jennifer!, i am glad i made it through all 4. im now hearing the "pair" is like a marathon, or a "rodeo" of sorts, ha, how long can you stay on?!!..thanx for the comp on my profile pic, yep, good ol' "Stimpy", he to passed about 3 years ago, Dec 23rd 2014, ya, 2 days before Christmas, it wasnt fun, the whole putting him asleep was unbarable, my wife sat with him and i was outside crying {dont laugh mofo's} he was a very different cat, old soul & he always slept with me, more so after every surgery….RIP Stimpson..Thanx Jen…

                • August 11, 2018 at 2:40 pm
                Bubbles
                Participant

                  YAY to kissing ipi goodbye!!!  Hope it served you well, but good riddence!!  Fingers crossed that your side effects will decrease when you are on the nivo only portion!  Way to gut it out!!!  c

                    • August 11, 2018 at 6:57 pm
                    MelanomaMike
                    Participant

                      Thanx sister Celeste! im just VERY greatful that symptoms where at a low roar, now i pray my 1st upcoming CT Scan shows better results then what  #7 bags of Pembro did! Please God! make some of these bastards go away! atleast enough of them that would eventually effect my organs! i can live with a few in my lungs, but keep them inline & in check & they will make great pets…

                    • August 11, 2018 at 7:33 pm
                    KellyH
                    Participant

                      Great news on completing the Yervoy!!!  I love hearing good news from everyone!!!!  

                      Good luck on the Opdivo!!!! 

                      Kelly 🙂 

                      • August 11, 2018 at 7:56 pm
                      Roberto
                      Participant
                        Hello Mike, my wife has a similar story. At this point she did the # 3 combo, her last dose will be on the 30th. Summarizing her treatments, she had Ipi alone, after Nivo, then an isolated limb perfusion, then repeated the infusion, returned to Nivo with radiation. Unfortunately, all of them have failed. Now she is trying the ipi and nivo combo. Her illness continues, grace to God, located in the left leg, but there are many lesions, more than 20 and some big ones. The best treatment was perfusion with melphalan and TNF. The problem is that 4 months later new lesions appeared. If the combo does not work, our option will be to do TIL in Israel, since this treatment is not available in our country (Brazil), which will be a enormous cost to us, about 250 thousand dollars. I apologize for my awful English. I hope the combo works for us.
                          • August 12, 2018 at 6:37 pm
                          MelanomaMike
                          Participant

                            Roberto! oh man! bless yer wife, its definetly a turn of events {life changing another words} for EVERYONE involved, i never focus on "cures" just keep me alive and somewhat "functional" ya know? lets see what the ip/nivo does for her, them two work great together studies show! Israel!!? good lord carlitol! start a GO FUND ME page for her! if you do i will donate what i can, and im sure folks here will to..your english writing is perfecto, take care bro, and give yer wife a hug from a Melanoma infected brother here in Southern California for me…we will survive!…Mike

                          • August 12, 2018 at 5:38 pm
                          Nick C
                          Participant

                            Glad to hear  you may it thru!  Keep on keeping on!

                            • August 18, 2018 at 12:30 am
                            Momofjake
                            Participant

                              Hi Mike!

                              Jake is back to the game. It’s been a tough week. He had his 3rd brain tumor radiated on Monday and PET scan yesterday. Lots of new growth. So the BRAF drugs are sadly done. The only thing they really offered was the ipi/nivo. He has done them both individually, and he HATES the vitiligo he has all over. But he will decide on Monday if he will do it. I want to know how you did on it! How sick were you….and of course SO SO hopeful for your scans and success!!! You have been through it all like Jake!! 

                              Prayers!

                              Kerri

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