My friend Pete

A friend of my Pete, is also Stage 4 melanoma. I met him 2 years ago when I was undergoing my chemo. He started 2 weeks after me. Then while I was in the hospital recovering from my surgery, he was admitted to the same hospital for stomach/digestion pain. After his surgery, he was told that the pain was caused by a tumor in his intestines. The tumor was melanoma, it had spread. Unfortunately, all of his cancer cannot be removed. The good news is that he has been accepted into a clinical trial down in Tucson (STA-4783).

This clinical trial has been very promising for melanoma. This is the first time in over 20 years that there has been a drug that the melanoma team down in Tucson at the AZ Cancer Center have been excited about. This drug has proven to reduce melanoma tumors by at least 50%. Some patient's tumors have completely gone away. This is so exciting I get emotional every time I think about it.

The trial is a combination of chemo and a new drug. The only downside to the trial is that some patients will receive a placebo instead of the drug. He will still receive chemo, but the drug they are testing along with chemo he may not. Pete is a pioneer and hero to all of us affected by melanoma. I ask for your prayers for Pete to receive the drug as his participation in this trial could not only shrink or get rid of his tumor, but if the trial continues to be successful, it could one day do the same for many other melanoma patients.

Thank you all!