Even Rock Stars go into Clinical Trials

[kmall]

Being a product of the early 80s as a teenager Heavy Metal/Hard Rock became a musical preference of mine and not ashamed to admit it, still is now in my mid 50s. So for anyone familiar with the genre as well, would know that when Ronnie James Dio of Rainbow/Black Sabbath went solo in 1982, he hired an unknown guitar gunslinger from Ireland by the name of Vivian Campbell. Anyway, they made 3 of the best albums of that time period together, and I was actually fortunate enough to see that lineup in Irvine, California back in 1986. 3rd best concert of my life behind Lynyrd Skynyrd ('87 the Reunion - too young to have seen all original members who had the tragic plan crash in 1977 which took the life of Ronnie Van Zant) and RUSH ('84) with Gary Moore opening up - another Irish guitar legend.

Recently it has become greater public knowledge of Vivian's battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma for the past 12 years. He was able to keep it under wraps from the mainstream public and go about his life as normally as he could while undergoing a Clinical Trial with pembrolizumab - which is now developed by Merck and marketed as Keytruda and being one of their most successful drugs with over 40 FDA approvals. I just came across this EXTREMELY interesting article on the development process and numerous corporate acquisitions which this drug fell under until it's ultimate success on the open market - I'm sure most here will thoroughly enjoy this read:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidshayw ... ockbuster/


Back to Vivian Campbell and his struggles with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Vivian was able to go about his daily life for the most part as normally as anyone else would, even touring the world with the band he is in today, Def Leppard the past 12 years since first being diagnosed in 2013. About 2 years ago pembrolizumab was becoming less effective and a combination of several chemotherapy drugs then became part of his treatment. Now he has undergone a bone marrow transplant and is hopefully optimistic about it's success. I found his story interesting from a patient perspective as it has gone on for over a decade now, while his treatment had to evolve over the course of that time. Hopefully it will bring a glimmer of hope to anyone out there in a similar situation and of course we are rooting for Vivian to have a very successful outcome in his BMT and get back to life as normal, even under Rock Star circumstances.

https://blabbermouth.net/news/def-leppa ... transplant


For those of you unfamiliar with Vivian's work, I leave you with the opening track on his debut album with Dio now 42 years later - still his best in my view.......man that went by quick. -Kmall

https://youtu.be/P_vIQ8-gF3A?si=2k6dAPvu25Nk1zHt

[biopearl123]

Wow Kmall, between Super Dave and heavy metal I am learning all kinds of stuff. I definitely missed all the heavy metal stuff while in self imposed lockdown in the medical library.

[kmall]

Bp - my world is pretty deep.

[biopearl123]

The “many worlds” thing is a quantum theory thing which you seem to have mastered!! As always I you have my serious respect and thanks for what you bring to this board. bp

[kmall]

Likewise Bp on both....... another not so fun tid bit, but talk about making lemonade out of lemons - Ronnie James Dio passed away in 2010 after battling stomach cancer for a few years. It was a very sad day for music in general as he has influenced countless others over the course of his lifetime. He also gave back millions in benefit concerts and album sales to charitable organizations from everything from famine in Africa to helping children across the world. The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up To Cancer Foundation was founded in his honor and has raised over $2M to aid in research for stomach, prostate and colon cancer.

https://diocancerfund.org/

https://youtu.be/UHT8V5OIkl4?si=g4MejgTlFeHsybzp


There is a fascinating documentary on his life - Dreamers Never Die - which debuted in 2022....... even for those not into the genre it is worth a look - my ex wasn't exactly a fan and was glued to it the entire time it was on while we were stuck at the hotel in New Haven last year. That's saying quite a bit......trust me! -Kmall

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11851698/

[pursang]

kmall, ever so slightly off topic, but if you haven't already checkout *Norman's Rare Guitars* on Netflix - totally worthy.

[KTArsenal]

Love Dio! If you’ve never listened to “Dio” by Tenacious D, it’s an absolute must. A funny hat tip to one of the greatest vocalists of the genre.

But since we’re on the topic of music, please allow me to introduce you to my favorite band, the DESCENDENTS, and their documentary, “Filmage.” It’s currently free on Tubi. Much like Dio’s documentary, it’s a bit of a tear-jerker near the end but uplifting in its message. Check ‘er out, if you’re into music bios.

Cheers

[lacour_98]

Don't know how I missed them, but I had never heard of Dio until kmall's post - great song. However, I couldn't get enough of Black Sabbath back in the day.

[kmall]

Pursang and KT - Thanks for the recommendations. Will check them both out. For the record I listen to a lot of different genres, but when working out, or working in general I prefer something that gets the blood going.

So we've pretty much gone full off the rails at this point and down the music hole that is Ronnie James Dio. Apologies to any of you this may offend. It did start out as a mention of a cancer patient who was involved in the early stages of pembrolizumab while it was in Clinical Trials......he just happened to be a famous guitar player for one of the - if not the greatest voices in Rock-'n'-roll (in my opinion). Anyway the link above in the original post here at the top of the thread from Forbes on the trials and tribulations of pembrolizumab is absolutely fascinating and in some ways multiple comparisons can be made between where it was, where it eventually went - OVER 40 FDA APPROVALS !!!! - how it is now one of Merck's most successful commercial launches - if not the most successful - and how just about EVERY point in that story is somewhat a reflection of Imetelstat - in one way or another and the ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES for various treatments we may be looking at in the future. Just a beautiful thing all around for both patients......and God willing......us beat over the head with a club long term investors.......come on Dr. Scarlett......my horse is gonna die of old age here waiting to "ride off into the friggin sunset !!!!"

Speaking of beautiful things, lacour - I've saved the best for last. Since you were a die hard Sabbath fan back in the day - and somehow never jumped on the Dio bandwagon - hard to believe that's possible - here is a SUPER rare soundboard recording of Ronnie James Dio with the original Black Sabbath lineup, minus Ozzy of course. Dio singing Ozzy songs always brings another dimension to those timeless classics. Bill Ward (drums) would leave slightly after this show from Hartford, CT 1980, he only played a handful of shows with Ronnie before being replaced by Vinnie Appicie (drums) who is the younger brother of Carmine Appicie (drums for Cactus/Vanilla Fudge/Rod Stewart) - both born and raised in Brooklyn, NY - another fun fact, I used to see Carmine quite often in my neighborhood on the UWS of Manhattan......I'll leave it at that to protect the innocent both here and there. Enjoy lacour and anyone else looking to Rock out on a Friday night!!! -Kmall

https://youtu.be/3H6nJgSajT0?si=G5SFVDF3nCEiBaby

[KTArsenal]

Bill Stevenson, (ranked in the top-80 drummers of all-time according to Rolling Stone magazine ) drummer for DESCENDENTS, Black Flag, and ALL, had a brain tumor.

Watch “Filmage” to learn the rest of the story. No spoilers, here.

As always, cheers

[LWS]

I have been talking to some people I know at NIH. They are in complete panic about continuing cancer research programs both internally and externally, especially at universities. I suspect Rytelo will be put on the back burner now as many are worrying about their future and their jobs at long established institutions. The NIH and the FDA will lose much of their independence and expertise in the current transition.

[kmall]

LWS - Please save us your political drama and nonsense. This isn't the forum for your insecurities or political views. Save it for the YMB - seems like everyone is fed up over there with you as well. -Kmall

[LWS]

Kmall -- These are not political views. There are established facts that none of us should hide from. Perhaps the dilemma is that the NIH and the FDA (both government-funded and connected) are now being purged and defunded to an extent that most do not understand. Public health in general and cancer research are important to all of us. Living in Bethesda, MD, I may have a closer view than most. Take care.

Unfortunately, public health and current politics are now interacting in ways that did not seem possible. Cancer research has been decimated. I agree that this is not a political board, but sometimes some topics are tied at the hip, and cannot be separated.

That is all that I plan to say for now.

[kmall]

LWS - here is what you wrote in your initial post in this thread....

"The NIH and the FDA will lose much of their independence and expertise in the current transition."

Not only is the above statement totally unfounded, it's clearly a political stance of yours. You venting your personal political frustrations is inappropriate on this forum, especially when coupled with baseless accusations. Not everyone who contributes here or reads your views shares your sentiment. Please take it elsewhere. I believe you have been reprimanded and warned here before several times in the past. -Kmall

[LWS]

Fact, not fiction

This is already happening. I know that everything is moving so fast now, that it is difficult to keep up and separate fact from fiction. Please take a closer look at this developing situation.

I would like to hear other comments about the NIH, the FDA, and the current state of cancer research.
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Previous:

"The NIH and the FDA will lose much of their independence and expertise in the current transition."

[kmall]

Nothing you bring is fact

It's your OPINION and a slanted one at that

It's called fear mongering. Enough already

[LWS]

Kmall --- The people that I know that are now part of NIH do not agree with you. I suppose much of the future looking material on this board is opinion, since none of us have a working crystal ball. I hope the NIH, the FDA, and cancer research (including Rytelo) will be fully funded without any adverse effects from the current transitions. Considering the Fauci situation, I am not too hopeful. The next few months will tell us a great deal, as the fog begins to clear.

[pursang]

Nothing you bring is fact

It's your OPINION and a slanted one at that

It's called fear mongering. Enough already

Agreed. Pure conjecture for the most part ..

[kmall]

Pursang - Beyond pure conjecture. Baseless political fear mongering at it's finest. Not one single shred of evidence to back up any of it. And even if there was it's a politically motivated opinion. There are many here who don't agree with his politics. That's not the point of this forum. And although this thread strayed slightly from it's original intent, it didn't carry political under tones. I personally know several people who had severe adverse effects to those vaccinations. One almost died and was hospitalized. That's not to say that perhaps they didn't save lives. But I know for a FACT that some individuals suffered worse for having received them. For the sake of this board I wouldn't even think of entertaining a discussion about said topic, since it's not relevant to the purpose of this forum - in any way, shape or form. LWS has been warned on NUMEROUS occasions to refrain from political opinion here, yet he continues doing so. His antics serve no purpose here. -Kmall

[LWS]

Kmall -- I disagree with you about what is fact and what is fiction. There are many people resigning from or are being removed from various government institutions (legally or illegally??) including NIH and the FDA. There is room on this board for differing opinions. Public health is a legitimate topic (IMO) including vaccinations in general and the possibility of cancer vaccines in particular. We can agree to disagree.

Let's hope that we are all correct about the inevitable approvals for Rytelo from the EMA and the MHRA/UK in the near future. Rejection at this time would be disastrous (not likely, IMO).