Immunotherapy Treatment

Back in June we settled on the Melanoma Oncologists at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance at The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. It is a great place that also treated my cousin Casey for Leukemia and they were able to work wonders with him. (Good Luck Casey keep amazing us all!) Dr. Thompson there is a leading doctor in the Melanoma research field. They started with a CAT/PET scan to look for any tumors and didn’t see anything so the good news is continuing. We’re so glad we caught my mole at an earlier stage! Those things grow so quickly it’s important to stay on top of it, which is why I have dermatologist appointments every 3 months now.

Melanoma is one of the rare forms of cancer that your body will fight off, it just needs to be primed for it. The standard treatment for my level of Melanoma, IIIa (of IV), is Interferon Immunotherapy. This is the chemical your body produces when you have a flu and it causes the “flu-like” symptoms. Actually the list of potential side effects while your on the drug is quite long but are not permanent and they shift so that over time your are affected by different things. Carolyn I don’t know how you do it, Interferon is a real challenge and few Melanoma patients can complete the full treatment.

I had one month of going in daily and getting hour long infusions, now I’m doing self injections 3 times a week at half the dose. The injections are similar to a diabetic shot. They recommend 11 months of self injections, thankfully the insurance has been very helpful as the drug is very expensive. We also went to see a Naturopathic Oncologist to see if there was anything he knew of to help the symptoms and have looked at Gilda’s Club Seattle and other cancer support groups.

The doctors and nurses have been amazed that I have been able to continue working as much as I have and have even been exercising by playing basketball at lunch with my co-workers. It’s great to be able to do that to help fight the fatigue, which has decreased since the Infusions ended. Other symptoms have been creeping in though and it has really created a day by day or even hour to hour focus for Melissa and I. The lack of appetite and nausea are some of the most difficult regular complications.

Other then that things have been going well and we’re anxious to see my family at the Ludlow family reunion and thank them for all their prayers and support.

First Week of Interferon Infuson…urgh the Flu!

First Week of Infusion - June 16th, 2008

The fun starts quickly with Intron-a and the list of potential side effects is long. (Poster size long) Here’s a small sample of the most common ones. I think I have had them all in groups and rotating order.

From the Warning Label “The most frequently reported adverse reaction was fatigue which was observed in 96% of patients. Other adverse reactions that were recorded in >20% of INTRON Atreated patients included neutropenia (92%), fever (81%), myalgia (75%), anorexia (69%), vomiting/nausea (66%), increased SGOT (63%), headache (62%), chills (54%), depression (40%), diarrhea (35%), alopecia (29%), altered taste sensation (24%), dizziness/vertigo (23%), and anemia (22%).”

Dec Update: Yep, had them all. They said I’ve had some of the most symptoms in one patient, plus a couple more that weren’t listed above.  I guess thats good since they say the worse you feel the better it’s working. 

Psi Bands Drug-Free Wrist Bands for the Relief of Nausea

Brandon has had a lot of problems with nausea, especially during the Infusion Phase of his treatment. I found these Psi Bands which have good reviews from people who get nausea from chemo or pregnancy. He’s tried them a few times and they seem to work pretty good. You can find them at Drugstore.com or Amazon.

Quease Ease Aromatic Inhaler, Essential Oil Therapy

Here is another item I found to help Brandon’s Nausea. QueaseEase is a drug-free, all natural product consisting of a unique blend of Pure Essential Oils, that helps to calm the queasiness associated with morning sickness – motion/sea sickness – chemotherapy . Lavender Oil, Peppermint Oil, Ginger Oil, Spearmint Oil.  Brandon carries this in his backpack to help with the queasy stomach feeling which is pretty much an ongoing symptom with interferon treatment. You can find it for about $15 at Drugstore.com or for more info go to Soothing-Scents.

Looking for Cancer

Back in Feb 2008 I noticed a mole on my calf that I recognized had gotten larger and darker. A normal looking mole for the most part but one that I was uncomforable with. I went to a family doctor with a skin specialization and he thought it looked benign but was happy to remove it. It is a really simple procedure and I’ve had several removed since then with no complication, it’s quick and painless and your can be back doing the things you love right away.

Two days later when the lab report came in he called me into the office that day. Luckily he had removed it because the mole was an advanced form of Malignant Melanoma, one of the fastest growing and farthest spreading forms of cancer. The main worries are if the cancer gets into to the lymphatic system or blood stream, from there it can quickly spread to the brain, lungs or liver.

The doctor recommended to me to see a Dermatologist and let me know that they would need to remove more skin from around the mole site and possibly do what’s called a Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy. This is where they trace the lymphatic draingage from the area where the mole was to the specific lymph nodes in the hip. Then they would remove those and see if they had cancerous cells.

A note that a lot of Dermatologists these days specialize in cosmetics and not medical conditions. Luckily while the first one I saw was a cosmetic doctor he knew a good surgeon to refer me to at Swedish Hosptial.

Please have your moles checked by a doctor and have any removed that are of concern.
What Skin Cancer looks like