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First time posting; Many thanks
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First time posting; Many thanks

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › First time posting; Many thanks

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    • August 18, 2010 at 4:53 am
    susanlee
    Participant

      I wanted to post a message to thank everyone for the words of support and encouragement you have given regularly. I have been viewing the posts on this board since my diagnosis mid-May 2010. I have acral letiginous melanoma of my left thumb. SNB and amputation of thumb were completed in June 2010. SNB was negative thankfully.  Chest x-ray, abdominal ultrasound and blood work were all within normal limits. Tumor size (7.9 mm) and mitotic rate (8/mm2) however were concerns for my doctors.

      I wanted to post a message to thank everyone for the words of support and encouragement you have given regularly. I have been viewing the posts on this board since my diagnosis mid-May 2010. I have acral letiginous melanoma of my left thumb. SNB and amputation of thumb were completed in June 2010. SNB was negative thankfully.  Chest x-ray, abdominal ultrasound and blood work were all within normal limits. Tumor size (7.9 mm) and mitotic rate (8/mm2) however were concerns for my doctors.

      I am having a CT scan tomorrow to establish a baseline and will be starting Interferon this coming Monday. I am not sure how I will react and how quickly the side effects will impact me. I know it varies from person to person but would appreciate any information you could provide.

      Thanks

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        • August 18, 2010 at 5:40 am
        babybluiz
        Participant

          I am so sorry that you are having to go through this. This is so rough I am sure.

          Interferon was the first treatment my husband did. He spiked a really high fever and started convulsing a few hours after his first dose. I ended up having to take him to the ER that night and they ended up admitting him for observations. I don't know if they are still saying 11 month treatment plan or not. My husband was only able to complete 3 of the 11 months  due to side effects. I do know that there are people out there where interferon was the drug that took them into NED. Just like every treatment it works for some and not others. Unfortunately it didn't work for my husband.

          I wish you the Best of luck. Please keep us updated with your treatment. Take care and stay strong

          Laura

          • August 18, 2010 at 2:10 pm
          Phil S
          Participant

            As you know, everyone has a very different reaction to Interferon.  My husband is currently in his third month of self injections, and is handling this treatment very well.  He also tolerated his high dose month with few side effects, he did feel sick the first night (Chills, slight fever) but that was the only night he felt that way.  He has never missed work, even during the high dose phase.  His white counts have decreased during treatment, but his liver function tests have been fine and his blood work results have never required that he delay treatment.  Phil does get tired and he did lose some weight as his appetite did change, but in general he is doing much better than we expected.  We hope and pray everyday that this treatment is boosting his immune system and killing those cancer cells. 

            Keep focused and listen to your body!!    Resting whenever you can is so important! You and everyone undergoing treatment to fight this disease are in our thoughts and prayers!!      Valerie (Phil's wife)

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