mattreidy
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Keytruda infusion #6 was today, 3/2/2016. Labs were normal. Will post CA 19-9 results when I get them.
God willing Marion, I’ll be bringing my wife next year and for the next 25 after that!
marions wrote:Matt……fantastic news. The enclosed chart leaves nothing to imagination, it clearly supports your comments of continuous success with your treatment.
So happy to have met you in person. Are you planning on attending next year’s conference as well?
Hugs
MarionGood news! I had labs done this past Wednesday, 2/10/16, and my liver function test results are ALL perfectly normal now.
This is after taking steroids to put the breaks on my immune system after the Keytruda triggered an autoimmune hepatitis.
I continue to take 10mg of prednisone daily and plan to have my next Keytruda on 2/24/16.
My CA 19-9 continues to go down even though I haven’t had a dose of Keytruda for over a month. The long-lasting effect of Keytruda I’m seeing is consistent with what I’ve read and heard from others.
I’m taking Keytruda and not as part of a clinical trial.
You just need a doctor willing to prescribe it… that and be able to pay for it. Insurance won’t cover it since it’s not FDA approved.
A clinical trial is the way to go, if possible.
grsharp wrote:Marions, we haven’t asked why a positive biopsy is needed. I guess it just seemed normal that you would need to have a positive biopsy before starting treatment just in case it was not cholangio.But is also makes sense that if you are 99% sure then why wait.
She had another attempt at a biopsy yesterday (the 1st one at Vanderbilt). The Dr said he took a needle sample thru the stent, a brushing and a sample with forceps. We should hear something in 3-5 days.
I saw on this site that someone had good results using Keytruda. Does anyone know if you have to be in a clinical trial to get Keytruda now?
Had labs done today and my liver function test results are much better than they were a week ago. Some are perfectly normal now and others are moving rapidly in that direction. This is after taking steroids to put the breaks on my immune system. It appears that the Keytruda triggered an autoimmune hepatitis. I’ll resume Keytruda in a few weeks. No need to fly out to Mayo Clinic tomorrow for an ERCP so I will be heading to the conference in Salt Lake City next week after all! Very happy!
Yes, I did Melinda – and I did have a minor (100F) temp the following day and that went away and morphed into a cold… I’m sure it’s just a little virus. Labs this Wed will tell and I’ll post results.
mbachini wrote:Hi Matt,Didn’t you say you threw up during your MRI?? Maybe it is an infection, bug you are fighting??? Looking forward to repeat labs this week with all normal results!!!
Melinda
Hi Julie!
Yes, this is a known possible reaction to the Keytruda. My doctor has seen it before.
Thanks!!
Iowagirl wrote:Matt…..Good to see your post. There’s the good news all the way through kind of neutral news to “What the heck” news in that post.
First…..CA19-9 continuing to go down….GREAT NEWS
Second…No evidence of disease…..GREAT NEWS
Third…..recurrence “might” still be there…..Still not bad….speculation that it is there at all
Fourth….High Liver Labs….possible auto-immune response to the Keytruda.
Question: Has that been a known response for others taking Keytruda in the past? It sounds logical. The Prednisone certainly sounds like a logical attempt to dampen that response. Hope that works and you can continue on once you get past this small hump.Hope the labs look better next week and that you don’t have to make the trip out to Mayo…and things can forge ahead with more Keytruda and continue to kill those beasties.
Julie T.
This week I had an MRI to try to “see” and validate that the CA 19-9 drop since starting Keytruda is actually a good measure. Results are back and there is no evidence of disease. This is great news, but tempered a bit by the fact that my recurrence has only once been barely seen on a scan. It’s just too small and in a crowded area of my peritoneal cavity so it’s nearly impossible to see. I’m sure it’s still there, at least a bit, based on my CA 19-9 still being above normal, but the Keytruda is working to bring that number down and, therefore, killing the cancer.
On another note, I had labs this week too and my liver function test results (ALT, Alk Phos, AST, and Billi) were alarmingly high. Higher than they have been since my resection two years ago. They spiked in less than 2 weeks. The previous labs were all normal. There’s no sign of blockage anywhere so we suspect it’s an auto-immune response to the Keytruda. I’m starting prednisone (steroid) today to put the breaks on my immune system and will skip my dose of Keytruda next week to see if that helps. I may go back out to Mayo Clinic for an ERCP to make certain that there’s no blockage if the labs don’t look like they’re headed in the right direction when I get them checked again next Wednesday.
Let me know if you do start it – I’d love to know someone else taking it and would be happy to answer questions or compare notes.
Melinda,
Thanks so much for the update. Your long-lasting response to the treatment 27 months ago is still amazing.
If you’ve got a compatible mutation, why you wouldn’t start the pembrolizumab/Keytruda immediately?
-Matt
It is perfect timing, for me. I couldn’t be happier!
Lainy wrote:Matt this is amazing! It is like a miracle and may the miracle continue!Time to share still more good news.
Today I just got the latest CA 19-9 results and it’s down to 151 from 160 three weeks ago. The Keytruda is still working.
I’ve now had a total of five infusions and will continue having them every three weeks until… Still no side effects to speak of too.
Here’s my history showing the continued drop:
Time to share even more good news.
Today I just got the latest CA 19-9 results and it’s down to 160. Previously it was 411.
There is no doubt now that the Keytruda is working!
I’ve now had a total of four infusions and will continue having them every three weeks until…
Zero side effects to speak of too.
Here’s my history showing the continued drop:
Just for those searching the forum, I’ll add that I was able to get my oncologist to prescribe Keytruda for me starting in November 2015. It’s still not FDA approved for Cholangiocarcinoma so my insurance (Aetna) would not pay for it. I was, however, able to get Merck to give me the drug for free under their Patient Assistance Program (http://www.merckhelps.com/). I have the MLH1 gene mutation in my tumor and after just two infusions, my CA 19-9 is down 171% so it appears to be working for me.
Time to share more good news.
Today I just got the latest CA 19-9 results and it’s down to 411. Previously it was 1,570.
The Keytruda appears to be working and I hope the trend continues. The drop was after just two infusions. I’ve now had a total of three and will continue having them every three weeks until…
Here’s my history showing the nice big drop:
