Changing Life After Colorectal Cancer: Ron’s Immunotherapy Story

In 2015 Ron was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. He received traditional, but debilitating, chemotherapy treatment for 9 months. #CIM18 #PatientStories

He wasn’t able to eat or sleep, and his devastated wife, Maria, searched for other options. In 2016, after learning he carried a genetic mutation linked to Lynch syndrome, Ron began a nivolumab/ipilimumab combination immunotherapy on a clinical trial at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Today, Ron continues to receive nivo/ipi as part of routine care and, for the past 2 years, has had no evidence of disease progression. “I am able to live on immunotherapy,” Ron explained. http://www.cancerresearch.org/patients

This video is presented as part of the Cancer Research Institute 6th Annual Cancer Immunotherapy Month awareness campaign this June 2018. Learn more about cancer immunotherapy and its potential to save more lives at http://www.cancerresearch.org/june.

Established in 1953, the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to harnessing our immune system’s power to control and potentially cure all cancers. Our mission: Save more lives by fueling the discovery and development of powerful immunotherapies for all types of cancer. To accomplish this, we rely on donor support and collaborative partnerships to fund and carry out the most innovative clinical and laboratory research around the world, support the next generation of the field’s leaders, and serve as the trusted source of information on immunotherapy for cancer patients and their caregivers. https://www.cancerresearch.org

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Ron passed away in December 2018. His family feels grateful for the additional time and quality of life that immunotherapy provided Ron, and hope that someday immunotherapy is considered first-line therapy for more types of cancer.”