March 9, 2017 / 1274 reads
Rikki Rockett says that he is still cancer free, one year after he started undergoing an experimental treatment.
Rockett was diagnosed with oral cancer two years ago. In early 2016, he came to Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego, where he underwent experimental cancer immunotherapy, which has now eradicated the tumor.
In a March 8 post on his official Facebook page, Rockett wrote: "One year ago today, I started a clinical trial for immunotherapy one week after my daughter Lucy's third birthday. I was faced with oral cancer that was not responding to radiation or chemo.
"My decisions:
1) Have surgery that would render me unable to ever speak again.
2) Try a different chemo that would only buy me time
3) Try a clinical trial of a new drug combination of immunotherapy. However, if it didn't work, it might be too late to change course and save me.
"I rolled the dice and began a trial at UCSD Moore's Cancer Center led by Dr. Ezra Cohen and Dr. Sandip Patel. Leaders in the immunotherapy field. Dr. Cohen was the lead [doctor] for head and neck cancer.
"I was more scared than I have ever been, but nine weeks later when I got my first PET/CT/MRI, the cancer had shrunk over 90%!!! A mere nine weeks later, I was 100% cancer free on July 13th, one day before my son Jude's seventh birthday.
"One year later, I am still cancer free and preparing for the POISON 2017 30th-anniversary tour. I have Dr. Cohen, Dr. Patel, Tony Le, my amazing girlfriend Tc Smith, my friend Cortni Miller and the all the fantastic staff at UCSD Moore's Cancer center and, last but certainly not least, God to thank. My little girl Lucy would touch my neck and say, 'All gone, Daddy' almost every day. It was gone..."
