Jan_JImATL

I am so sorry that you are going through all of this. I;m sure you will get great care through MD Anderson, and luckily Nov 4th is next week. I know it seems like an eternity right now. Make sure you see a Melanoma specialist, that is critically important. They will likely start you on immunotherapy and probably check to see if you are BRAF +, which would allow for targeted therapies too. My husband was diagnosed with Stage IV , with an unknown primary, one year ago. He did the Ipi/Nivo combination and had several side effects, but they were tolerable and the worst of it was over in about two months. The advancements that have been made with immunotherapy are truly amazing and have radically changed the outcomes for Stage IV Melanoma patients. There is lots of hope and there are many survivors for you to talk to!!! Another big benefit of immunotherapy is that you probably won’t look like a typical cancer patient during your treatment. You’re not likely to loose your hair or get a grey pallor. I know this seems like a trivial detail, but it will be helpful to you as you navigate this process with your new employer. Good luck!!

Hi Lucy,

My husband was diagnosed stage 4 in October 2018.  He had an enlarged submandibular lymph node and he also had no primary site.  He has the p53 mutation also and BRAF wild.  We are also at Emory with Dr. Kudchadkar.  He completed the 4 rounds of ipi/nivo and is now on nivo once a month.  We just got the results from his 6 month scans today and we've probably seen a tumor load reduction of about 90% so far.  He had metastis in his liver, bone, and lungs.  The neck lymph node mass was 5cm and is now 1 cm.  We are down to a couple of 1cm nodules in the lung and the 1cm residual in the original lymph node.  We are hoping he continues to have such a great success with this treatment!!!!  His eyebrows and beard have gone completely white.

Janice (Jim's wife)

Hi Lucy,

My husband was diagnosed stage 4 in October 2018.  He had an enlarged submandibular lymph node and he also had no primary site.  He has the p53 mutation also and BRAF wild.  We are also at Emory with Dr. Kudchadkar.  He completed the 4 rounds of ipi/nivo and is now on nivo once a month.  We just got the results from his 6 month scans today and we've probably seen a tumor load reduction of about 90% so far.  He had metastis in his liver, bone, and lungs.  The neck lymph node mass was 5cm and is now 1 cm.  We are down to a couple of 1cm nodules in the lung and the 1cm residual in the original lymph node.  We are hoping he continues to have such a great success with this treatment!!!!  His eyebrows and beard have gone completely white.

Janice (Jim's wife)