Ding ding ding! That's the sound of a Warrior Wendy fiercely ringing her bell! After 19 months of infusions, her two recent PET scans have shown no evidence of disease! She has officially completed her immunotherapy treatment for Stage IV Mucosal Melanoma!
She will continue to have surveillance scans and bloodwork for the next ten years. For the first two years, they will be every 3-4 months. Reoccurrence generally reduces after two years. If everything is clear after two years, the scans can be moved out to every 6 months- 1 year.
There is a chance of side effects from stopping the immunotherapy drugs, so she will have a complete blood study in 6 weeks. It took some time, but the combination immunotherapy of opdivo and yervoy did the trick. To go from metastatic cancer in May 2020 to NED today is nothing short of a medical miracle. We are truly grateful for her healthcare team at U of M and for all our family and friends for lifting us up in times of hardship. This is a message from Wendy:
"Today my doctor handed me a piece of paper that said "congrats!". He also gave me a hug and thanked me! He explained that he had concerns early on in my treatment when the meds appeared to be causing more harm than good, and to see me doing so well now is why he does what he does. He is seeing many more of his patients on long term follow up visits than he did a decade ago. He shared that 12 years ago someone diagnosed with Stage IV Mucosal Melanoma would have a life expectancy of 3-6 months. My immunotherapy drugs [opdivo and yervoy] were FDA approved less that 10 years ago, with the combination use of the two drugs together only getting approval in 2015. I am so lucky and blessed that cancer research is making leaps and bounds! I'm thankful for U of M (yeah I said it!!), Dr. Lao, Dr. McKean, Dr. Wabeke (Go Green!), and all of their staff. Thank you to my husband, children, family & friends that have smothered me with kindness and prayers. God bless. Love, Wendy”
Click this link to read: Game-changing class of immunotherapy drugs lengthens melanoma survival rates
