Opdivo

Lwest
Lwest Member Posts: 4
in Lung Cancer #1

My wife was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer on May 12 2017. She has finished 6 rounds of chemo which did no good. The chemo just seems to have made her feel a lot worse. The oncologist wants to start her on Oopdivo. The cancer has spread to her brain, bones, liver and in her lymph nodes. My concern is at this point would it be better to bring in hospice and make her comfortable and try to give her a better quility of life or go through the whole chemo again.  Does anyone have any opinions on this? Please respond if anyone has had any experience with Oopdivo

Comments

  • MyJourneywithCancer
    MyJourneywithCancer Member Posts: 82
    #2
    Hello Lwest
    My friend, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in April last year, went through initial chemo followed by Opdivo till earlier this year. She had good responses to both. Opdivo is an immunotherapy and it works by removing breaks from body's immune system so that it can attack tumor cells. What I can tell from my limited experience, it also has much milder side effects compared to the classical chemo, and thus an excellent alternative as a second line of treatment. My personal suggestion would be to continue with that second option that we have, and to stay positive. I wish you the best.
  • Tammie47
    Tammie47 Member Posts: 3
    edited October 2017 #3
    I have been on opdivo a

    I have been on opdivo a little over a year. I have went into remission and feel really good. Went back to work and living life.

  • Threedogs
    Threedogs Member Posts: 3
    edited December 2017 #4
    Opdivo

    My mother felt the best on Opdivo and really liked the treatment but it literally did nothing for her in terms of shrinking the mass. My mets advice is getting more than one opinion if you have access to multiple oncologists in your area.

  • mama2bandc
    mama2bandc Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2017 #5
    Tammie47 said:

    I have been on opdivo a

    I have been on opdivo a little over a year. I have went into remission and feel really good. Went back to work and living life.

    question about your treatment

    Hello,

    My father is battling SCLC and currently getting Opdivo.  May I ask what kind of lung cancer and what stage you are?  Did you feel well throughout?  Any other treatments aside from Opdivo?

     

    thank you so much,

    Eva

  • MyJourneywithCancer
    MyJourneywithCancer Member Posts: 82
    #6
    Hello Threedogs,
    Sorry to hear about your mother. Can you please share here whether any of these is known from her biopsy: tumor mutation burden, mismatch deficiency status, any other genetic mutation, PD-L1 level? Also, how long she has been on Optivo?
    I hope doctors will find a more appropriate treatment for her soon.
  • texsculpt
    texsculpt Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2019 #7
    Violent cough in Stage 4 NSCLC

    My girlfriend (age 69) has Stage 4 NSCLC.  She was originally diagnosed in Oct 2015 at Stage 1.  Chemo has nevee been her opotion. Surgery removed her tumor, which suppodedly removed all signs of cancer. In 3 months, it was back. Targeted radiation was tried.  3 months later and there were lots of tumors.  Next, she tried Opdivo immunotherapy once a month for 4 months. In the 3rd month, a violent and chronic cough began.  At first, it was non-productive. After the 4th month (Jan 2019), there was no sign of any tumor anywhere. 3 months pass and she is in stage 4!  Cough continues daily, and all day long. Beginning the end of Oct 2019, she began Opdivo every other week for 3 treatments.  There's a PET scan on Dec 26th and then another Opdivo. 

    The cough eventually became productive and is non-stop.  She gets very little sleep and has fevers every day and often vomits.  No food is vomited.  It is mostly just sputum that is so thick it nearly gags her.  Now, there are spots of blood in that sputum.  No treatment offered has curbed or even helped the cough.  Hydrocodene tablets and cough syrup have been prescribed.  She does get a few minutes relief, but obviously, can't just take that stuff constantly.

    Her weight is at an all time low and she eats like a horse.  Some relief from the cough is what she needs most of all.  If anyone has successfully dealt with that, please respond.

Discussion Boards