Hi,

I'm not a nurse but I've been a melanoma patient for many years. I'm replying to you as the nurses won't be back until tomorrow & I think you need to contact your treatment team asap to report your back pain. They will tell you what pain relief you can take but they may also want to call you in to investigate the cause of your back pain. Hopefully it's not melanoma related but it's always best to report any unusual or new symptoms as quickly as possible.

Good luck and I hope your pain is resolved & your treatment goes well.

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

Hello Maggiemoomoo and thanks for the post

I am sorry to hear about the back pain you are experiencing since starting pembrolizumab. Unfortunately as you will know back and joint pain can be a side effect of this treatment.

If the pain killers aren't helping and this is a new ailment for you do speak with your own team so they can advise on the best things to help. Do also ensure you are eating a healthy balanced diet and getting some light exercise as this can also help.

In some cases when the pain becomes uncontrollable they may adjust the dosage of the pembro or consider other things like steroids to help manage the side effects. Do speak with your team to decide the best way forward for you and whether they need to look into this further.

Best wishes

Naomi