Gordon 's Story
In November 2014, Gordon learned that he had a malignant tumor in his colon. Over the next four years, Gordon underwent several surgeries and chemotherapy regimens, which put him in two brief remission periods.
In early 2018, the cancer once again recurred in the colon, this time having also spread to the abdomen, liver, lung, and bone. Gordon's oncologist was able to place Gordon in a clinical trial where he received pembrolizumab (Keytruda). While the treatment showed some early promise, CT scans ultimately indicated tumor growth and his participation in the trial was terminated.
Having essentially exhausted his available treatment options in Montreal, Gordon was fortunate to have been introduced to Dr. Aaron Miller at UCSD Moores Cancer Center in San Diego. Although Gordon's tumor did not have the MSI-high mutations for which immunotherapy has shown the best success, new genetic sequencing, conducted in the fall of 2018, revealed other mutations that, in Dr. Miller's opinion, opened the door to another attempt at immunotherapy: a combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy).
After three rounds of treatment, Gordon’s tumour markers had plummeted and a CT scan showed substantial reduction in the cancer. A subsequent CT scan indicated further disease reduction.
