A short history of my melanoma adventure:
I was diagnosed 6/12 with primary on my scalp. I had a modified radical neck dissection of the right side with 4 of 48 nodes positive. I enrolled in the Ipi-interferon clinical trial. I completed 6 months of interferon..fun yea! August last year I discovered a small growth under my skin on the side of my chest. A simple outpatient procedure removed the metastatic growth. That caused me to be classified stage IV. The good news was that now made me eligible for Ipi. I completed my Ipi as a adjuvant therapy last fall without incident.
Here is where it gets interesting and noteworthy. In early February I experienced a well noted, but delayed, side effect from the Ipi. My immune system compromised my pituitary, thyroid and adrenal functions. This of course is a well known side effect. This past Monday I was at Mass General for my quarterly scans and exam. All clear!! The surprising news came from Dr Flaherty when he informed me of a correlation they had made very recently, within the last 2-3 months. He informed me that “men aged in their 50′-60’s who experience a compromised pituitary function tend to do very well”.
So, as often happens in our lives, what seemed to be a bad thing..has a sliver lining.
Chuck Basil