What: The media is invited to the celebration of Greg Bedson, an HRI melanoma patient who is now in complete remission.
When: Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 12:00 p.m.
Where: 10510 N. 92nd St., Ste 100, Scottsdale AZ
Contact: Steve Yozwiak, Senior Research Science Writer: (602) 620-4749
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.– The media is welcome to cover the final visit of cancer patient Greg Bedson to HonorHealth when the staff of the HonorHealth Research Institute celebrates his “complete response” to a type of melanoma that had invaded his neck and lungs.
The patient will be available for interviews at noon Feb. 15 at the HonorHealth Research Institute, 10510 N. 92nd St., Ste 100, Scottsdale, Ariz., in the northeast quadrant of the HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center.
In December 2020, the retired corporate executive from Scottsdale was with his wife Linda at their vacation home in the north woods of Michigan when Greg noticed a bean-sized lump in a lymph node on the side of his neck. A local Michigan doctor diagnosed it as a type of melanoma cancer.
Linda’s online research identified the HonorHealth Research Institute in Scottsdale as a Center of Excellence for melanoma, which included access to clinical trials. The couple quickly returned to Scottsdale and began treatment with a new investigational drug in combination with a proven, commercially available, anti-cancer immunotherapy called pembrolizumab, also known as Keytruda.
Scans at HonorHealth also revealed that the melanoma had spread to Greg’s lungs.
Within three months of the initiation of treatment, the lump on his neck and the other lesions in his lungs started to shrink, Greg said: “Every scan they did was better than the last.”
After about a year of treatment, Greg’s cancer status was declared a “complete response,” meaning he had no detectable cancer on exam or with x-rays. Greg, now 71, still has no detectable cancer.
Now, his last scheduled visit to HonorHealth Research Institute is set for noon Wednesday, Feb. 15, before he and Linda move to the Vancouver, Wash., area so they can be close to their son and a new grandchild.
Greg said he feels fortunate that there was an investigational option at HonorHealth Research Institute with the potential to build on the successes of available standard treatments. “I was surprised and thrilled at the same time,” Greg said of how well he responded to treatment, adding that he now has a “very positive” outlook for the future.
Dr. Justin Moser, the medical oncologist at HonorHealth Research Institute who supervised Mr. Bedson’s care, heads the Institute’s Cutaneous Oncology Program and specializes in the development of new cancer therapies for skin cancers, including melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, merkel cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and uveal melanoma.
“I believe that all patients with cancers deserve access to the newest and most advanced cancer therapies. We at the HonorHealth Research Institute work hard to bring in the newest clinical trials to ensure Arizonans have access to the most exciting studies. While the potential for complete responses in metastatic melanoma to standard drugs is about 5%, our goal is to constantly work to move the needle in favor of better outcomes,” said Dr. Moser.
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About the HonorHealth Research Institute
HonorHealth Research Institute is an international destination that is at the forefront of providing patients with a better quality of life through access to clinical trials and innovative treatment options. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, the institute’s team of physicians and researchers collaborate with experts from across the nation to offer life-changing therapies, drugs and devices. At the HonorHealth Research Institute, patients have access to tomorrow’s interventions, today.
Please note that HonorHealth Research Institute is separately recognized from HonorHealth. All media contacts below work directly in the communications division of HonorHealth Research Institute.
Media Contacts:
Steve Yozwiak
HonorHealth Research Institute
602-620-4749
[email protected]
