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This is pretty good news regarding Cancer treatment

kc78

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"Scientists are hailing the results of a small clinical trial as groundbreaking after a single immunotherapy drug caused every participant's rectal cancer — typically treated with chemotherapy, radiation and surgery — to disappear after six months.

Participants all had stage 2 or 3 rectal adenocarcinoma (meaning the cancer had reached the lymph nodes but hadn't metastasized) with a specific mutation that's particularly sensitive to chemotherapy. They received the monoclonal antibody dostarlimab intravenously every three weeks for six months, a total of nine cycles.

The rectal cancer tumors vanished for all 14 patients who completed treatment — a full clinical remission. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine by researchers at New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK).

Despite the tiny sample size, the results are promising.

“That’s 100% of patients. We never, ever say that about cancer treatments,” NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar said on TODAY Wednesday, calling the findings "unprecedented.""

 
As someone who recently went through surgery which altered my life pretty dramatically for a while due to colo-rectal cancer, this would have been huge.

Now granted, it's only a sample size of 14 people in a very specific form of cancer. But 100% of them had complete remission. That's got to be good news for future cancer research.
 
Mom just beat colorectal cancer. This would have been a welcome addition.

Get yourself checked
yeah I was in my early 40's when we found mine. Luckily I didn't require chemo or radiation and it had not spread into the lymph nodes or other organs, but the surgery was huge, required a 7 day hospital stay, and took over 6 months before I really started to get back to normal. It's been about a year and a half and I'm only now starting to feel like I'm finally moving on. Here's to hoping it continues to stay away. So far so good on all my checkups.
 
Good news. I was hoping this thread had some good news about pancreatic cancer though. My sister was recently diagnosed with stage 3.
Sorry about your sister Shawn. I have a sister battling a pretty severe case of breast cancer right now. I know pancreatic cancer is a different story though. Hang in there.
 
As someone who recently went through surgery which altered my life pretty dramatically for a while due to colo-rectal cancer, this would have been huge.

Now granted, it's only a sample size of 14 people in a very specific form of cancer. But 100% of them had complete remission. That's got to be good news for future cancer research.
Sorry to hear you have cancer. Did you ask your Oncologist if there were trials like that available? Asking because TBW (no pic) has breast cancer and there are tons of alternative treatments out there.
 
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yeah I was in my early 40's when we found mine. Luckily I didn't require chemo or radiation and it had not spread into the lymph nodes or other organs, but the surgery was huge, required a 7 day hospital stay, and took over 6 months before I really started to get back to normal. It's been about a year and a half and I'm only now starting to feel like I'm finally moving on. Here's to hoping it continues to stay away. So far so good on all my checkups.
Glad to hear this kc! Did you have symptoms? What led to the diagnosis?
 
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There’s a poster here (don’t remember who) who works in the cancer field. He’s highly pessimistic about any of the ground that’s been gained in dealing with cancer over the past few decades. His posts are pretty depressing. I hope he chimes in here.
 
Qualify for surgery, whipple? Also, get second opinions, if she hasnt already. Major cancer centers, preferably.
Yes, yes and yes. 1 month ago had the tumor removed at St Luke’s in Kansas City. Originally thinking stage 1 or 2, however found cancer in her lymph nodes. Got most of the cancer, but not all. Starts 6 months of chemo next week.
 
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I am three months into prostate cancer treatment. My cancer was diagnosed after a biopsy in December. My urologist has been tracking my PSA for a few years and it made a big jump in 2021. I was diagnosed with high-risk prostate cancer meaning there was a high likelihood it would metastasize without aggressive treatment. I am now on 24-months of hormone therapy and finished on May 13 28 radiation treatments.

My advice to all the men here is to have annual PSA blood tests after turning 50, earlier if you have a family history of prostate cancer. This can be part of your regular blood workup during an annual physical.

If you do receive any cancer diagnoses, move quickly to get a second opinion. Not on the diagnosis, but on the treatment plan.

Go to a center of excellence for cancer treatment. Find an NCI-designated facility near you. I chose Duke Cancer Center and it was an excellent choice for me. The level of care in those facilities is hard to describe. You feel like you are their only patient and it is comforting to have a large care team. One very small example, after the oncologist explained the drugs I would be taking for hormone therapy, within three minutes a pharmacist came in the room to discuss the dosage levels and potential side-effects of the drugs. This is not care I would receive in Myrtle Beach.

There have been great strides in cancer treatments over the past decade, but it remains a horrible disease. The pancreatic cancer vaccine in the news this week was very exciting news on treatment for one of the worst cancer types one might deal with.

I am lucky. Prostate cancer grows slowly. Mine came on quickly as I had a previous biopsy in 2019 that found no cancer, but it was still growing slow enough that I could take a few months to find the right care team and treatment plan. Good luck to anyone dealing with cancer.

 
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I have a relative who was diagnosed with I think multiple myeloma about 18-months ago. Went through chemo and some sort of transplant (stem cells???) that was pretty awful from all accounts. I guess it is in bones and lymph nodes when found, but has really shrunk and they appear to be doing much better a year after the transplant. However, I don't get much info so not sure how bad this all really is or what the prognosis is. I have seen that 5 years is the average time once detected but don't really know much or what all treatments they have been going through. Just sounds like it sucks all the way around.
 
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yeah, 2020 was terrible for me beyond Covid. My Mom died of brain cancer in January, one of my good friends and mentors died of stomach cancer a bit later, and then I was diagnosed with my cancer in August and was in surgery 30 days later. Thankfully I seem to have made it as mine was much more treatable than either of there's. But it definitely made me realize just how life changing that is even in "good" cases like mine.
 
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