Aus

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond Tom and Bridget. I really appreciate it. We have an appointment with the radiation oncologist next week and hope that he will consider further treatment. Clinical trials were discussed as a possibility early on in his treatment, but we are advised that is no longer feasible. I will be going along to the next appointment with his medical oncologist next week and hope to be able to explore options further. We have remained hopeful with every treatment since his diagnosis and the last few weeks in particular have been devastating with his medical team advising against further treatment. Thank you again.

Hi everyone! I am new on here and trying to work through my dad’s stage IV cancer treatment. He was diagnosed in February 2021 at age 62 with stage IIIB adenocarcinoma. He commenced 6 weeks of radiation and 5 weeks of chemo (carboplatin and paclitaxel). Scans in August revealed 5 small brain mets. We were advised that he was not a candidate for stereotactic radiosurgery and he underwent WBRT. He commenced immunotherapy (Opdivo/nivolumab) in late August and had 9 sessions. Subsequently they found a spot in his shoulder and hip which were treated with radiation. His oncologist determined that the immunotherapy was not effective given the additional mets and ceased immunotherapy. He was then placed on platinum chemotherapy which has now also ceased as he developed a pleural effusion in April. He has been sent home and advised that further treatment options would be futile. I am seeking to understand whether there is anything else we should be exploring with the medical team. Has anyone switched immunotherapies and found that one worked better than another (eg from Opdivo to Keytruda) or are they all the same? He has tested negative for EGFR, KIT, KRAS AND NRAS. We have been told he is also ROS1 negative, but I haven’t seen a record of this with his paperwork. His PDL1 is 10% (as I understand it). Are all mutations generally tested for or do they need to be specifically requested? At last scan, most of his sports were stable or show minor progression, but for one spot on the brain which has grown. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have been so grateful to find this forum which is incredibly informative and helpful. We are in Australia and I am conscious that treatment protocols may be somewhat different. Many thanks.