I just want to share something with you that I find truly AMAZING!
This was the first time a tumor surfaced after my original surgery back in November 2011.
This picture was taken February 11th 2013.
This was what it looked like December 16th 2014.
When it first appeared back in February 2013 there were no treatments available, only clinical trials which I signed up for and participated in.
Over the next couple of years the cancer had spread to my lung, brain, cracked rib, pelvis, adrenal gland, abdomen and my stomach muscles.
Remember that this is advanced stage 4 metastatic melanoma.
On September 25th 2017 my brain MRI and ct-scans came back clean and they have been clean ever since. I have scans scheduled for next week which will also be clean.
I have had a few recurrences of cancer on my ear and I had a few surgically removed last year.
I was also put on a immunotherapy treatment that I quit after I felt it has served its purpose. Sometimes my doctors just roll their eyes at me.
Lets move forward to February 3rd of this year.
That brown spot on the back of my ear is another stage 4 tumor.
On this day they injected a modified herpes cold sore virus directly into three tumors on my ear with this being tumor #3.
This is the T-VEC virus that they injected directly into the tumors. I did this treatment one other time back in February 2016. It was less than 60 days after receiving FDA approval.
T-VEC does two things. Number one is that it has the ability to attack and kill cancer cells. Number two is it stimulates my immune system to also attack and kill cancer cells.
I took this picture Saturday, 12 days after the first T-VEC injection.
The tumor is dying. It will be totally gone within just a few weeks.
AMAZING!!!!
It will not have the chance to spread to other places, with organs being their favorite targets.
This treatment is referred to as a "direct target therapy" which was made possible by the rearchers at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
They discovered a specific gene mutation in some melanoma cancers, its called the B-RAF gene mutation - which the cancer in my body does have.
This mutation causes the cancer to spread rapidly and uncontrollably throughout the body.
Thanks to the Huntsman Cancer Institute they have been able to developed direct targeted therapies to treat specific melanomas that have this gene mutation.
Thank you Jon Huntsman Sr.
(picture modified to comply with forum rules.
)
This was the first time a tumor surfaced after my original surgery back in November 2011.
This picture was taken February 11th 2013.
This was what it looked like December 16th 2014.
When it first appeared back in February 2013 there were no treatments available, only clinical trials which I signed up for and participated in.
Over the next couple of years the cancer had spread to my lung, brain, cracked rib, pelvis, adrenal gland, abdomen and my stomach muscles.
Remember that this is advanced stage 4 metastatic melanoma.
On September 25th 2017 my brain MRI and ct-scans came back clean and they have been clean ever since. I have scans scheduled for next week which will also be clean.
I have had a few recurrences of cancer on my ear and I had a few surgically removed last year.
I was also put on a immunotherapy treatment that I quit after I felt it has served its purpose. Sometimes my doctors just roll their eyes at me.
Lets move forward to February 3rd of this year.
That brown spot on the back of my ear is another stage 4 tumor.
On this day they injected a modified herpes cold sore virus directly into three tumors on my ear with this being tumor #3.
This is the T-VEC virus that they injected directly into the tumors. I did this treatment one other time back in February 2016. It was less than 60 days after receiving FDA approval.
T-VEC does two things. Number one is that it has the ability to attack and kill cancer cells. Number two is it stimulates my immune system to also attack and kill cancer cells.
I took this picture Saturday, 12 days after the first T-VEC injection.
The tumor is dying. It will be totally gone within just a few weeks.
AMAZING!!!!
It will not have the chance to spread to other places, with organs being their favorite targets.
This treatment is referred to as a "direct target therapy" which was made possible by the rearchers at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
They discovered a specific gene mutation in some melanoma cancers, its called the B-RAF gene mutation - which the cancer in my body does have.
This mutation causes the cancer to spread rapidly and uncontrollably throughout the body.
Thanks to the Huntsman Cancer Institute they have been able to developed direct targeted therapies to treat specific melanomas that have this gene mutation.
Thank you Jon Huntsman Sr.
(picture modified to comply with forum rules.
)
