Immunotherapy, Cemiplimab.

Hi my mam has secondary liver cancer - I hope you are doing ok. Can I ask have they said if the metastasis could go away with the treatment you are having 

Sorry to read about your mam. What I have been told is that the treatment I am having is designed to stop the cancer spreading further. From what I can gather it works for about 50% of patients. For a much smaller number it can shrink the tumour, but it won’t remove it.

Hi thanks for the reply. Can I ask if they give a prognosis in terms of if the treatment works and they stop it growing etc is it a case of you could still live for many years? 

There are no certainties and the guidance I have is that each individual will be affected in a different way, so they can’t predict how you as an individual will respond. So they monitor every few months with a CT scan to check against a baseline scan at the start of the treatment. The treatment can go on for up to two years if it seems to be working.

I have had to come to terms with the fact that the way ahead is unpredictable and I try to take each day as it comes. I could live for several more years, but definitely no certainty.

I wish they could, but in truth they say they can’t give those sorts of answers. My hospital has only been giving this treatment for four years, so the history is still building up. It is difficult to handle, this not knowing, but whilst you will naturally be very concerned, I suspect your mam will understand. But I am just one person so others may have different experiences and information. Best wishes to you both.

Thanks for the replies best wishes to you also 

Dear Baba73, I hope all is well with you. I would be grateful if you could tell me which hospital and consultant offer this treatment as we are looking to find this treatment for a beloved family member.

With best wishes

Hi, Sorry to hear about your family member.

I am being treated, on the NHS, by the Churchill Hospital, in Oxford. 

Everyone you meet at the hospital is wonderful, although their follow up letters can be very slow, but that is not the end of the world! I have now had eight sessions.

Best wishes

Francis

Dear Francis, thank you so much for your reply - that is very helpful and I wish you all of the very best and am glad to hear that you are being looked after. With best wishes S.