Two Teas in a Pod with Teddy Mellencamp and camera Judge.
Hi, guys, welcome to another episode of Two Teas in a Pod with myself, Teddy Mellencaan.
And Tambra Judge. Hey, Teddy, Hey, Hi, Hi.
I'm calling you from the actual room where I'm getting my immunotherapy treatment.
I understand that, I understand you have an update for us. You just had a scan done.
I do.
I have an update, so in exciting news. So last time they had checked soulely my brain and those tumors are shrinking. And then today I had the scan and where they checked my lungs and they are shrinking and one of them has shrunk so much you can barely even see it.
That's great.
So it's really really good news. I'm definitely so relieved. I'm also a little bit like, if I sound a little weird, it's because I'm in the middle of them in a therapy treatment right now. But what they said was this is good news. That means my body is responding to everything. But I do need to live on immunotherapy for the next two years. So every four weeks for the next two years, I have to come in and get that done. So and then every three months I get another scan and we check to make sure
that everything is where it is. But the part that I was confused about. I thought that, like, once the tumors start going away, I'm like, so, does that mean I'm cancer free? And he's like no, He's like you, we will let you know when you're in remission. But at this point, everything's just heading the correct way.
So immunotherapy ever for two years every four weeks, is that just controlling it or is it curing it?
It's both. It's making sure that it's getting smaller and then let's say that it gets so small that it disappears. It's making sure that it won't form anywhere else in my body.
Okay, so it's.
So yeah, so something that I've learned today. That's pretty cool. So the reason they were able to do this treatment on me, because remember radiation didn't work and the tumors were getting bigger, and like I was only able to get certain surgeries is because over at Feeders Clinic, there is everything in one spot. So because of that, they can do multiple treatments and figure out what works for you individually. So I think what ends up happening to a lot of people. If you know, this is why
I'm so grateful that I live in California. Is they go to you know, they have to go to all these different doctors at different locations, where mine is kind of like a one stop shop. That's great, and yeah, so's it's really good news.
Do you have another one in three weeks and then after that you do every four weeks or from now on it only every four weeks.
This is my last one. This is so Also right now, I'm on three medications when I'm doing the immunotherapy, and I was very concerned. I mean, granted, this is going to sound wild, considering I should just be thrilled regardless, but I was like, on these current medications, I still feel really sick. Yeah, and especially like after day six,
I get really sick. And he said, well, for this one that you're doing right now, you'll still be on the three medications, but then it rotates and you'll be on two medications and your body starts to become more immune to it, so you don't get as sick. I thought it was pretty which I thought was pretty interesting because I was a little bit worried about having to live on immune therapy because you know how I am
when I get super emotional on certain days. But I think that the fact that this is all moving in a smooth pass forward is is really good news. Yeah.
I mean, just the fact that your the tumors are responding to the immunotherapy is just absolutely amazing because there could have been a chance that they would not have responded correct correct.
And then the part that's even more wild. I'm like, can I do everything? And he's like, what do you mean. I'm like, somebody invited me to go skydiving tomorrow? Can I go?
You're not going? You're not I'm not allowing you to do that.
Well, that's not actually what he said. He said, Yes, of course you can go. No, you can do app he goes, you can do absolutely anything. And then but this is the best part. I go, well, can I drive? And he goes, Nope, not for three more weeks because you had a seizure and you have to wait three more weeks.
Yeah, you're not really getting sky dive.
Hard No, three more months, by the way, three more.
You're not really gonna skydive, right, No.
Why would you take me seriously? You think I'm going to make an effort to go somewhere to go skydiving.
Okay, I just want to I never know with you, I just want to make sure.
Well. I just wanted to make sure that any people don't give me any flack, like, oh, you're riding horses, you're on an airplane, you're doing anything.
You can do whatever you want as long as it's not skydiving. I tell that to Eddie.
Said, well, he said, you know, the fact that you're doing so well shows that you being able to do so many things has helped your body heal because you're doing things that you love. Oh that was really cool.
So why did they how did they determine two years? Do you know.
That's I don't know if that's standard protocol. But I said, what if I want to stop it shorter? And he like kind of lifted his glasses up and he looked at me, and he goes, two years is what I strongly recommend.
And then after the two years did he say.
No, No, you go to like tend you're like my dad, My dad came into town for this. The first thing is my dad comes into town, I have to go get my scans where I have to drink that like disgusting milky stuff that's like makes me radio active or whatever. And then I go get my scans and I come out with my Dad's there. We're waiting for the doctor. The doctor comes in and then I know he has my results, and then my dad and him are making
small talk. Finally I'm like, hey, gentlemen, any chance we could do the results first?
What'd your dad say about the results?
He goes, so you're cured. I go, Dad, yes, I'm much better, but I am not cured yet, which AKA means you still I still got to be the favorite, and you still got to be the nicest to me because I'm still fighting.
So you're gonna milk him, You're gonna mak Yeah.
Well, thank you such good news, and I just wanted to call you and kind of give you the update. And I know that I'm not going to be on the pod that much for the next couple of weeks, but then I am back and hopefully in full force starting on June first. So I just kind of wanted to give everybody a headset that I'm doing okay, and I'm really appreciating Cam and to Dolores and everybody and iHeart for filling in and being able to do so much with me no matter how I'm feeling, They're able
to figure out ways to work around my schedule. So I'm really grateful to you guys. But I am hoping my dream, my goal is along with sky diving, is being back, being back full time on the pod around June first. That's amazing.
Happy, Thanks dabe.
We did it. Looks like we made it.
No today was I knew today was so stressful for you. And we were chatting a little bit this morning and I'm like, oh, it's going to be great news. It's great news, and this is great news.
It's very good news. And now I just have to keep staying on it and make sure that I and you know, listen to my body. If there's a day that I'm not feeling well, I have to remember just because I'm not doing treatment as often, I'm still in recovery and I still need to be taking care of myself.
That's right, all right. So you're doing immunotherapy as we talk right now? How long does that last?
Two hours?
Okay? When you do this moving forward, is it still the same amount of time and immunotherapy? Is it shorter.
I think it's going to be shorter because it's two hours for three different meds, so I think it'll be one hour because I'm down to two meds, is my guest, because I have they call it the bags, so I have two bags right now. I do, but I think it switches to just one bag.
Yay.
But I love you, Tom, thank you so much for everything. Yes, all right, well, and I need all of your updates soon and hopefully I'm going to be just more and more with it. And then I'm like, well, can I stop my you know, medic, my other medications, And he's like, nope, you've recently had a seizure, so you've got to stay on the capra and those medications. But at least I'm not on any narcotics. I'm on non narcotics, and I'm on no what is the stair? Those are the ones
that made me crazy. So and the paper good news all the way around.
Pay no pain.
The pain is great. I'm actually in here right now. This is pretty crazy. I'm in here right now with my doctor. Can you explain a little bit I've talked just that we're on the podcast doing to teeth In the pod, I talked a little bit about why it's so great at the Aangelist clinic, about having everything in one spot. But is there something you can say in like two minutes that could explain it probably better than
I did. All you guys are putting you on with my doctor, who I've made his life probably living hell, but either way, we're working through it, and he's going to walk you guys through immuta therapy because a lot of you don't even know what immuna therapy is because to my knowledge, it's only been around about ten years. And I believe my doctor was the founder of immunotherapy. Hah, give him a little brag there, So I'm on this for hold on here.
He is all right, well, that Teddy is an expert in hyperbole, But what she meant to say is that I'm one of the initial physicians to run the trials on this type of immunotherapy she's getting. Immunotherapy has been known for many years to work to cause the resolution of tumors from in the olden days when people got momps or measles. Some tumors resolved Cooley's talks. And Cooley was a surgeon at Memorial who injected some things near
a tumor. Don Morton, who was a very well known surgeon, used to give BCG into tumors and create an immune inflammation. We know that that should happen because just like your immune system gets rid of viruses and bacteria, it can get rid of tumors. And what we have designed and done as a field over the last two decades are drugs that worked to reignite the immune system, and that's
what's working for Teddy. It's important to know that those drugs can cause significant and serious side effects, so a place that has expertise in it is what you should be looking for. And for a tumor like melanoma, where it's not the most common tumor, but it's a top five cancer for young women like Teddy. It takes you know, it's top two in years of life ofst behind leukemia, and it is an ongoing issue. What's important to know is you need to have either on your team or
as your main oncologist, someone who has that expertise. Now, these drugs are great because we've shown that they can cross into the brain and control and resolve disease that's in the brain, which is you know, the benefits that we're seeing here with Teddy. We've also found that it's durable. You can teach the immune system and at some point stop giving this drug. And you know, as I come, as I come down to see Teddy, I leave the room of someone who was in a similar position a
decade ago. And this is the benefits of immunotherapy response and durability beyond what we've seen before with chemotherapy, surgery, radiation or targeted agents. So to come to a place where it's not just like a park once place where all the imaging and the surgeon and the oncologists and the procedures can be done at the same time, but to come to a place that has many, many decades of experience with this tumor is important or any tumor. So here we've built, you know, a clinic of expertise.
It's someone who does just lung cancers or your female cancers or uh A cancer, intestinal cancers. But also the ability to you know, be close to an expert team of physicians, nurses, staff, And I really think that that helps not just when things are going well, but if you run into a side effect or if there's a need to move into a clinical trial or something like that.
Remember that doesn't live in California, find the best type of doctors for them.
Well, I think you need to first talk to your doctor and you say, hey, I need a I'd like a second opinion with someone who spends the majority of their time focused on my cancer. You know, most oncologists because of need, Because of need, learn a lot about everything and don't focus like someone like me on one cancer.
So you can go to your foundations. This is a nice way to give a plug because it's Melanima Awareness Month for the Melanima Research Alliance, the Melanima Research Foundation aim at Melanoma, which is an amazing All of them are patient advocacy, research and educational places, so a lot there.
Can I ask you one question, Hi, it's camera. So two years, how do you determine the two years to continue immunotherapy every four weeks? And after that two years?
Everybody is different. Everybody is different, and so that's why they say, you know, like medicine is an art, we just have to remember you remember the risks, the benefits and the data. Ultimately, in the course of these two years, we may get better data to help us make decisions. But right now we're continuing, and I have a question.
I remember at one point I came in and said, what is the chance of me surviving from melanoma? And I believe that you said thirty five percent? What would you say it is?
Now?
I'm not going to cry.
Just well, here's what I said to you. I said to you that the average survivals have gone from six months to six years, that the patients with brain metastasies, the response rates are now fifty percent or greater. And we're seeing somewhere, you know, five for five year survivals with patients with brain metastasies somewhere forty to fifty percent. And it doesn't matter as statistics are for you know,
big populational stuff like education, transportation, sanitation. But we would work with the therapy that gives you the best chance of working. And what we know with immunotherapy and melanoma is if you make it to three years without having anything grow or come back, you're golden about ninety five percent of the time. All right, well we'll leave her at that.
That's good. Thanks you. All right, so we got to make it for you. Appreciate it, Thank you so much, and just for anybody else that wants more information. The fifteenth annual Los Angeles Melanoma Symposium is Thursday, May twenty second. If you want to register for it, it's www dot aimat melanoma dot org and then click on symposium and you can learn more. Or if it's easier for you to call, you can just call three one o two three one one two one two.
Oh.
Well, thanks guys for tuning in to another episode of two Teeth and a Pod. Of course, this one's a little different than others, but it's got good news.
Yeah, we got a lot of information, some good news. So Teddy, I will talk to you after yourmunotherapy. I hope that you're feeling good after that and we'll talk soon.
Ye bye, Mabe bye.