POISON Drummer RIKKI ROCKETT Talks Tongue Cancer Remission - "I Want To Play And I Would Love To Tour; I Am Absolutely Fine"
September 3, 2016, 7 years ago
It's been reported in recent months that Poison drummer Rikki Rockett is in total remission from tongue cancer. He recently spoke with Jeb Wrght at Classic Rock Revisited about his cancer scare and the immunotherapy treatment that helped him. He also commented on the the possibility of Poison getting back out on the road.
Jeb: Did you know anything about cancer before this or was it out of the blue?
Rikki: "It was totally out of the blue for me. My life changed drastically. My mom had breast cancer but it was encapsulated. There was no other cancer history in my family on either side, so I never really worried about it. When I got this… I went in because I had a sore throat and lymph node popping out. I couldn’t seem to get rid of this cold. I had a cold for a month. I was used to getting sinus infections that would last a month. The doctor said he wanted to scope me and make sure there was not a secondary infection going on down there. When he scoped me that’s when he saw the tumor. My day went from going to the doctor and walking out of there with some antibiotics to getting out of there with a prescription to go get a biopsy. That day my life changed."
Jeb: What’s up with music?
Rikki: "I want to play and I would love to tour. Hopefully that will happen. I’ve stopped telling anybody that Poison is going to tour because every time we say we will something comes along and screws it up. I would like to do that. I’m good enough to do it. I’m fine. I am absolutely fine. I train Jujitsu two hours a day. I am good to go. I have strength. Am I as strong as I was? Is my timing as good as it was? Not yet, but I am getting there and I will get there soon. Playing a show would be a walk in the park compared to what I do on the mats."
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Rockett's cancer was first noticed and treated in 2015. After a few months, it recurred. Rockett, who lives in Los Angeles, talked with his physician at the University of Southern California about options. The doctor warned him his quality of life might suffer significantly.
"You might be able to eat, you might not be able to eat. You might have to speak with a stoma (opening in the throat). That's what the doctor told me. At this time, I have no cancer in my body. I can talk. I'm fine. And it's because of the promise of immunotherapy. And not just the promise. It is working."
Rockett was diagnosed with oral cancer more than a year ago. Several months ago, he came to Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, where he underwent experimental cancer immunotherapy, which has now eradicated the tumor.
Rockett says he joined the clinical trial not only out of concern about himself, but also about being around for his three-year-old daughter, Lucy, and his seven-year-old son, Jude.
Immunotherapy is a relatively new form of treatment that boosts the body's immune system, better enabling it to attack cancer cells. Under the care of Ezra Cohen, MD, professor of medicine and associate director for Translational Science at Moores Cancer Center, Rockett participated in a clinical trial that is testing a combination of two immunotherapy drugs that remove defenses cancers use against the immune system. This type of treatment is only available at a few specific medical centers around the country.
“We are delighted that Rikki responded so well to immunotherapy. He had already been through a lot with chemotherapy and radiation treatment before he came to us, but his cancer recurred,” said Cohen, who also leads the Solid Tumor Therapeutics Program at Moores Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. “That’s the advantage of immunotherapy over traditional therapy — there are fewer side effects, we can specifically eradicate cancer cells almost anywhere in the body, and it’s effective against tumors that are resistant to chemotherapy and radiation.”
Rockett broke the good news via his Instagram account, where he posted a photo of himself with Cohen. The drummer wrote in the accompanying caption: "Because of this man, I am cancer free!!!"
Already feeling better for the past few weeks, Rockett is slowly getting back into Brazilian jiu-jitsu, riding his motorcycle and taking care of his kids.
Rockett also wants to get the word out about immunotherapy — to those who have already exhausted other treatments like he did, but also to people newly diagnosed with cancer who might be able to avoid chemo and radiation.
“My hope going forward is that by talking to other cancer patients, I might be able to lessen their pain and suffering,” Rockett said. “I know from experience that chemotherapy and radiation are not fun. If I can help anyone else, it would help give reason to what I went through.”
One of Rockett’s immunotherapy drugs is pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an antibody that inhibits the abnormal interaction between the molecule PD-1 on immune cells and the molecule PD-L1 on cancer cells, effectively releasing the “brake” and allowing the immune cells to recognize and attack tumors. Pembrolizumab is FDA-approved for some cancers, such as melanoma, but not Rocket’s oral cancer. The other experimental immunotherapy drug he receives in the trial is epacadostat, which inhibits the IDO pathway. This cellular system suppresses immune cell function and allows tumors to evade the immune system. The trial is sponsored by the company Incyte. Rockett will continue therapy in the trial until its completion.
Moores Cancer Center is one of only 45 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the country. It is also the first and only San Diego-based member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the world’s leading cancer centers, and is certified by the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPL), the leading quality program of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
For adults newly diagnosed with cancer, treatment at an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center means superior survival and recovery rates due to the fullness of care, diverse medical, surgical, and radiation oncology sub-specialties, access to breakthrough clinical trials, advanced supportive care and utilization of exacting quality metrics.
Patients have access to therapies, surgeries and clinical trials not offered in community settings. Moores Cancer Center currently operates more than 170 open treatment trials. These investigational therapies include advanced, highly personalized stem cell-based approaches and immunotherapies that leverage the inherent healing powers of the human body.
In late-2016, UC San Diego Health will open Jacobs Medical Center, a 245-bed, 10-story facility where patients with cancer will have access to the Pauline and Stanley Foster Pavilion for Cancer Care, a space dedicated to specialized oncology, and to the A. Vassiliadis Family Pavilion for Advanced Surgery where surgical options include minimally invasive approaches, robotics, transplantation and other combinations of 3D technologies and lifesaving techniques that are only found at UC San Diego Health.
