Pam's friend

I was going to express my admiration for the positive attitude and love you 2 always show --particularly in the face of adversity--but Kasey already expressed my sentiments exactly.

I just want to echo Katie's comments about the Doctors at Mary Crowley. Pam is enrolled in the EP-2101 vaccine trial at Mary Crowley and we have had a good experience there. Many of the vaccines in clinical development are in stage 1/2 trials and consequently are being tested on patients with advanced stages of disease. Unfortuneately, sometimes at that point, the disease has affected the immune system rendering it unable to be "powered" by the vaccine. Also, the vaccines, when effective, tend to take a little bit of time to work. We were fortunate that Pam's disease, although classified as stage IV, was stable after chemo so she had a functioning immune system and time to respond to the vaccine. Anyway, for the reasons noted above, it seems that the vaccines will eventually be an even more attractive option for earlier stage patients after an initial round of chemo/radiation. I think that's why the BLP vaccine by Merck was so successful for stage 3b patients. I believe they are close to starting the large scale stage 3 trial for the Merck BLP vaccine.

thanks for sharing your experience. Hopefully this site will fill you with inspiration and love..thats what it did for me. Keep us posted. -Kyle

thanks for sharing your story...Pam was diagnosed as stage IV in June of 2004 and I wish I could keep up with her. Please use hers and the other great information that is shared on this site as inspiration and a source of support...I've found this site to be extremely informative and even more loving and caring! Take care and keep us posted. -Kyle

super news..I'm gonna have a bud light and celebrate..don't think there is any chemo in the fridge! very happy for you! -Kyle

Thanks so much for all the research that you do and sharing your findings with us. Your posts in the "LC News" section are a daily must read for me. Pam has been on the stage 3b/4 ep-2101 phase 2 clinical trial at the Mary Crowley Center here in Dallas since February and we've been thrilled with the results (as have the Dr's). She has been stable since she started the trial--which I believe is the objective of many of these vaccines-- to turn Cancer into a chronic disease. The great thing about these vaccines is the lack of side effects. She's felt great since day 1 and we don't have to go back for scans until Feb. By the way----one of our Doctors at MCRC is Dr. Cunningham of the "ask the experts" forum. His expertise, patience and ability to relate to his patients and explain very complex things in understandable language is even more evident in person than it is on the site! He's really a fantastic Doctor and person. -Kyle

Kim, I had the metallic taste as well. I bought bags of hard candy to suck on.......I am a coke addict (coca-cola). I like them out of the can and the taste was horrible.....I didn't get the taste immediately after my treatment it seemed like it was about 5 days into it. It does go away and sometimes after my treatment I didn't have it at all. But I know what your husband is talking about. Nothing taste the same. The only thing I can suggest is the hard candy and not to eat his favorite foods. That doesn't mean he can't eat anything it's just going to taste different. I just avoided the foods I liked and enjoyed them when my taste was back to normal. Hope this helps! Pam

Great news. I've come to regard "stable" as the most underrated word in the English language. We've been stable for 1 yr and everytime I hear our Oncologist say the word I clench my fist and say "Yes!!". Thanks for sharing your news and brightening our day.

What an interesting story! It really seems that on the % of people that Iressa is effective for, it really makes a dramatic difference. It sounds like you have great Doctor's and medical support. Just wanted to suggest that you might also want to keep an eye on the phase II results for the GVAX lung cancer vaccine conducted by Cell Genesis. The vaccine in phase I trials seemed to be particularly effective for people with the BAC subtype of lung Cancer such as yourself. Here's a link to the page on their website that references this trial: http://www.cellgenesys.com/clinicaltria ... ncer.shtml God bless and thanks for sharing your story.

Hi Michael. My friend Pam was diagnosed as stage IV in early June of last year. We asked for a prognosis after given the diagnoses and our Oncologist said that he really doesn't like to give them because there are so many variations to the disease and each case is truly different. He said if we insisted on having a number that a historical bell curve would show a 9-12 month range. He then added that those were historical numbers that didn't factor in newer treatments and that his appointment immeidately prior to ours was with a man who was diagnosed with stage IV nsclc with brain mets 12 years ago! So, we didn't become obsessed with our 9 to 12 month number. Good thing since next week will be the 12 month mark and Pam feels so good and is so active that I can't keep up with her! Take care and God bless. Believe me, the people on this board will be a valuable resource to you with respect to information and inspiration. They have to us.

Just wanted to finally post and say thanks to everyone for all of the information and support you have provided through this board. What an amazing group of people you all are! My very close friend Pam was diagnosed with stage IV NSCLC in June, 2004. As you can see from her profile below, we have been really blessed with her response to treatment and in general with the way she has felt physically since her diagnoses. Pam decided to keep a daily online journal of her "journey with lung cancer" to inform her many friends and family on how she is doing. We had a friend who was diagnosed shortly before Pam do this and her journal was a great help and inspiration to us as we could see how someone else with the same afflication was prgoressing with and enjoying her life. Pam's website address is www.pamsmithhome.com The initial diagnoses is scary and definitely throws you for a loop, but the people we have encountered through her journey, from her absolutely wonderful oncologist and his great staff to other cancer patients and friends such as the people on this board have been a real blessing in our lives. I'm not sure if you realize it but the courage, compassion, love and remarkable outlook on life that is displayed on this board really makes a difference! Just wanted to post and say thanks!