Survivor Fights Mesothelioma Recurrence With Immunotherapy

Tami Pream was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma and esophageal cancer in December 2021. Following a bowel obstruction 3 years later in June 2024, doctors again found mesothelioma in her abdomen.

After her initial mesothelioma diagnosis she underwent a multimodal treatment plan. She received radiation therapy, as well as heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy and cytoreductive surgery.

To treat her mesothelioma recurrence, her doctors recommended immunotherapy. She began her new mesothelioma treatment in August 2024.

“It seems to be making somewhat of a difference in how I’m feeling,” Tami tells The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “So far, I’ve only had 2 treatments.” 

Tami says her treatments have been going well so far, and she hasn’t experienced any side effects. But concerned about any possible effects, she consulted her doctors.

She says when she raised her concerns, her doctors explained, “Immunotherapy can cause your organs to inflame. They could treat it with medication. Then, they would assess the damage. Based on that, they would decide if they can retry the immunotherapy.” 

Tami says she asked what the plan would be if she did experience an issue and couldn’t retry immunotherapy. “I also asked, ‘If you can’t reattempt, then can I try the chemo at a lower dose?’ They said yes, depending on what happens. So there are a whole lot of ifs right now,” Tami shares.

Tami also explains, “I can only receive the immunotherapy for 2 years. It will not cure mesothelioma. It will slow it down or put it in a form of remission.” 

It’s still too early for Tami’s doctors to devise a plan beyond her current rounds of immunotherapy treatments. Her doctors did mention there are other potential mesothelioma treatments in clinical trials that may be options for patients if immunotherapy is unsuccessful.

“The clinical trials are in the early stages and are showing some promising results, but it’s too early to confirm. They say if that continues to go well, that may be an option for me down the road,” Tami comments.

Staying Busy After Leaving Her Job

Tami left her career as a project manager for Coca-Cola after 32 years when she initially received her mesothelioma diagnosis. She focused on managing her care and healing.

“At that time, I focused on myself,” Tami recalls. “With all the discomfort, there are days when I lie down for a couple of hours and do nothing. My focus isn’t good anymore.”

Tami shares, “I have managed billion-dollar projects and traveled the world. I miss the job. And I miss the people. I’ll tell you that.” 

She says she does now have the time to do things she didn’t before. Tami says she and her husband, Frank, are busy finishing a renovation project at home. She’s also making time for exercise. 

“I’m going to start going back to the gym because I can. I no longer have a crazy schedule to hold me back,” Tami tells us. “I look forward to reconnecting with my old water aerobics friends.”

Tami particularly enjoys spending time outdoors. It’s something she likes to do as much as possible. 

“I also like to kayak and fish, although we haven’t been lately. I like to be outside, but sometimes I’m stuck inside because the air quality is so bad. The recent Canadian wildfires had a big impact on air quality,” Tami says.

Tami uses a CPAP machine at night to treat sleep apnea. She’s also been dealing with a chronic cough.

“I’ve been dealing with a chronic cough since 2009. They think it’s related to GERD [gastroesophageal reflux disease],” she says. 

Hiatal hernias are a risk factor for GERD. Tami’s doctors suspect her hiatal hernia could be causing the condition.

“Now my cough’s worse because of the scraping of my diaphragm,” she adds. “Because of that, I have some trapped air in my lungs that doesn’t all get out.”

Tami’s Future Goals

In the future, Tami plans to get out of the house even more and visit new places. She’s looking forward to traveling with her husband.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Germany,” she shares. “We have a hotel named after our family there, and I’ve always wanted to stay there. I’m praying that I can stay well enough to do that.”

In addition to visiting Germany, Tami and her husband hope to visit Hawaii. She says they’ve often talked about traveling there from their home in Minnesota.

“My husband has never seen Pearl Harbor, and he’s into that kind of thing” she tells us. “We’ve talked about going on a Hawaiian cruise, and I would really like to do that.” 

She says her most important goal for the future is to recover. “I want to feel better, and I’m praying to God that the immunotherapy works,” she says.

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