When Cary Parton was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer in February 2013 he immediately began chemotherapy, but after 8 weeks of treatment a CT scan showed that the tumors had actually increased in size.

Parton knew he needed extraordinary measures to beat the disease: the cancer was spreading all over his body. That’s when he met with Dr. Edward Garon of the UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center who enrolled Parton in an immunotherapy clinical trial with the medication pembrolizumab, better known as Keytruda®.

Parton started taking the drug in June 2013, and within 10 weeks, his tumors had shown a reduction by 40 percent. By February 2014, they had been reduced by 86 percent, and as of April 2019, nearly six years after the study began, Parton’s tumors had shrunk by more than 95 percent.

“This clinical trial was a life saver,” said Parton. “To be alive today is pretty miraculous. It’s astounding.”

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Tags: Cancer, chemotherapy, Clinical Trials, Dr. Edward Garon, keytruda, lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, Patient Story, UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center