{"id":4191,"date":"2018-09-07T21:21:59","date_gmt":"2018-09-07T21:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4191"},"modified":"2018-09-07T21:21:59","modified_gmt":"2018-09-07T21:21:59","slug":"keytruda-a-new-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4191","title":{"rendered":"Keytruda, a new hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The issue of Keytruda<\/a> has become near and dear to my heart the past few weeks with a close family member taking it to treat his lung cancer.<\/p>\n

Keytruda<\/a> is an immunotherapy drug that instead of poisoning the body, uses the body’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. It’s been very effective for melanoma.<\/p>\n

Keytruda is sometimes known as “The Jimmy Carter drug.”<\/a> He is the most famous Keytruda patient. In 2015, Jimmy Carter was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in his brain and liver and was given months to live. Three years later, after being given Keytruda on an experimental basis, he’s still kicking and cancer-free. In fact, now, many cancer patients are left asking their doctors “can I get the Jimmy Carter medication”?<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

That doesn’t mean Keytruda is some kind of “miracle drug.” It hasn’t worked on everyone. But, after being shown that it was more effective than chemotherapy for melanoma, they started giving it to lung cancer patients.<\/p>\n

This is the best description I’ve seen about Keytruda. That it “wakes up” the body’s natural immune system and teaches it to recognize that cancer cells are not normal cells and need to be destroyed.<\/p>\n

Keytruda is manufactured by Merck and its chemical name is pembrolizumab. There’s some similar auto-immune cancer drugs, one of which is called Opdivo.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The drug has created so much buzz that it’s gotten attention in L.A. Times articles that it could be a more effective first-line defence against lung cancer than traditional chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

Some people call Keytruda a “miracle drug,” but it isn’t quite that. Not yet. It doesn’t cure everyone with melanoma or lung cancer, but apparently it is more effective than traditional chemotherapy. It’s a promising breakthrough. It works fantastic for some people.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, immunotherapy will ultimately lead to a total cure for lung cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The issue of Keytruda has become near and dear to my heart the past few weeks with a close family member taking it to treat his lung cancer. Keytruda is an immunotherapy drug that instead of poisoning the body, uses the body’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. It’s been very effective for melanoma. … Continue reading Keytruda, a new hope<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[833],"tags":[497],"class_list":["post-4191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-keytruda","tag-keytruda"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/thumb_72345-644x401.jpg?fit=644%2C401&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4hpEa-15B","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3931,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3931","url_meta":{"origin":4191,"position":0},"title":"Jimmy Carter on the forefront of possible breakthrough in lung cancer drug","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"August 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Jimmy Carter was diagnosed about a year ago with advanced\u00a0liver cancer that had metastasized into his brain and other organs. Usually, for a 90-year-old man, the prognosis is not good. However, a year later, Carter is at the moment cancer-free and apparently has no plans of dying any time soon.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Keytruda"","block_context":{"text":"Keytruda","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=833"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160616-jimmy-carter-cancer-1215p_e510b4c7e214f042414c426212d131b0.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160616-jimmy-carter-cancer-1215p_e510b4c7e214f042414c426212d131b0.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160616-jimmy-carter-cancer-1215p_e510b4c7e214f042414c426212d131b0.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160616-jimmy-carter-cancer-1215p_e510b4c7e214f042414c426212d131b0.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160616-jimmy-carter-cancer-1215p_e510b4c7e214f042414c426212d131b0.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4198,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4198","url_meta":{"origin":4191,"position":1},"title":"Immune therapy breakthrough for cancer wins Nobel","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"October 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Two medical researchers, James Allison of the U.S. and Tasuku Honjo of Japan, were awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine this week for their breakthrough research in harnessing the body's own immune system to fight cancer. Allison and Honjo's breakthroughs came way back in the 1990s. Their research eventually led\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Immunotherapy"","block_context":{"text":"Immunotherapy","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=864"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/8B0F56D5-4A1D-4D0B-B304DF716B27D2A6.jpg?fit=590%2C393&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/8B0F56D5-4A1D-4D0B-B304DF716B27D2A6.jpg?fit=590%2C393&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/8B0F56D5-4A1D-4D0B-B304DF716B27D2A6.jpg?fit=590%2C393&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3171,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3171","url_meta":{"origin":4191,"position":2},"title":"New drug uses body’s own immune system to fight lung cancer","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"April 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"An interesting story from NBC News. A new drug, called Keytruda, can apparently use the body's own immune system among some patients to fight both lung cancer and melanoma. According to the NBC News article: Garon's team tested Keytruda in 495 lung cancer patients. The drug targets mutations in genes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lung cancer"","block_context":{"text":"Lung cancer","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/lung-health.gif?fit=659%2C518&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/lung-health.gif?fit=659%2C518&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/lung-health.gif?fit=659%2C518&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4046,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4046","url_meta":{"origin":4191,"position":3},"title":"New drugs making progress against lung cancer","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"June 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Lung cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. At one time 90 percent of the people who developed lung cancer died from the disease. The number is better now, but the death rate for lung cancer is still one of the highest for any form of cancer. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Immunotherapy"","block_context":{"text":"Immunotherapy","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=864"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/what-is-mesothelioma-lung-cancer.jpg?fit=496%2C482&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3200,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3200","url_meta":{"origin":4191,"position":4},"title":"Cuba, U.S. cancer centre join forces to work on a vaccine for lung cancer","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"April 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Another fallout of the thawing of relations between Cuba and the U.S. -- and a pretty neat story, to boot. Scientists at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y. announced a partnership last week with the Center for Molecular Immunology in Havana to work together\u00a0on a vaccine for\u00a0lung cancer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cuba"","block_context":{"text":"Cuba","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=503"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/cuba-cultural-tours.jpg?fit=530%2C354&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/cuba-cultural-tours.jpg?fit=530%2C354&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/cuba-cultural-tours.jpg?fit=530%2C354&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2399,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2399","url_meta":{"origin":4191,"position":5},"title":"Boston Herald columnist calls for banning chewing tobacco in baseball","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"August 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Boston Herald columnist Michael Silverman wrote a powerful column this week that it's time for Major League Baseball to ban chewing tobacco. This is hitting home in Boston right now because former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who helped the Sox win two World Series, recently revealed that he is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chew in baseball"","block_context":{"text":"Chew in baseball","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=263"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/schilling777887.r.jpg?fit=460%2C385&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}