Newly Diagnosed Stage IIIC

Rjr, I was diagnosed with stage 3b in January of 2013 and in June I started my first round of biochemo which included 3 rounds of inferon after a 5 day hospital stay. I will say that inferon was by far the most painful part of the various drugs I was given but to be fair when I was in the hospital I had full access to strong intravenous pain relivers where as at home I did not, Tylenol and tramadol and lots of hot baths helped take the edge off but you just have to know it is a temporary pain. This was the drug I dreaded the most during treatment. It was only recommended that I do 3 rounds of the biochemo/inferon combo and by the 3rd round I was so sick from the biochemo I refused to do the inferon. It’s still in my fridge. So I was a wuss and only made it through 2 rounds. The main symptom I experienced was the body aches that were miserable. It’s like having the flu times ten. For me it only lasted for a day or two but i had no appetite and constant nausea for weeks at a time. The best advise I can give you is to not let yourself get dehydrated and keep the meds in your system at all times. I ended up in the critical care unit after every round needing fluids because I was so dehydrated that I couldn’t keep the water I used to swallow my meds down with, down. I know this information probably doesn’t make you excited about the possibility of signing up for this treatment option but what got me through it was knowing that I was being proactive in my treatment instead of waiting for the melanoma to show its ugly face again and the fact that I knew it wasn’t going to be forever. We can all do inferon if we put our minds to it. Because I did the combination of bio chemo/inferon I was unable to work for 3 months, but talking to others and with my personal experience with inferon, I can see where it would be possible to work if your only doing weekly injection inferon. Just plan it around two consecutive days off, inject Friday night before bed and I would think you would be ok by monday? Maybe take a week off for your first one to see how long it takes you personally to feel ok again. Make sure when injecting inferon to do it before bed and take pain meds with it. I would do the shot and feel the side effects about 2-3 hours later. I lost about 2/3rd of my hair but i think it was mainly due to the biochemo. I hope this helps somewhat.

Rjr, I was diagnosed with stage 3b in January of 2013 and in June I started my first round of biochemo which included 3 rounds of inferon after a 5 day hospital stay. I will say that inferon was by far the most painful part of the various drugs I was given but to be fair when I was in the hospital I had full access to strong intravenous pain relivers where as at home I did not, Tylenol and tramadol and lots of hot baths helped take the edge off but you just have to know it is a temporary pain. This was the drug I dreaded the most during treatment. It was only recommended that I do 3 rounds of the biochemo/inferon combo and by the 3rd round I was so sick from the biochemo I refused to do the inferon. It’s still in my fridge. So I was a wuss and only made it through 2 rounds. The main symptom I experienced was the body aches that were miserable. It’s like having the flu times ten. For me it only lasted for a day or two but i had no appetite and constant nausea for weeks at a time. The best advise I can give you is to not let yourself get dehydrated and keep the meds in your system at all times. I ended up in the critical care unit after every round needing fluids because I was so dehydrated that I couldn’t keep the water I used to swallow my meds down with, down. I know this information probably doesn’t make you excited about the possibility of signing up for this treatment option but what got me through it was knowing that I was being proactive in my treatment instead of waiting for the melanoma to show its ugly face again and the fact that I knew it wasn’t going to be forever. We can all do inferon if we put our minds to it. Because I did the combination of bio chemo/inferon I was unable to work for 3 months, but talking to others and with my personal experience with inferon, I can see where it would be possible to work if your only doing weekly injection inferon. Just plan it around two consecutive days off, inject Friday night before bed and I would think you would be ok by monday? Maybe take a week off for your first one to see how long it takes you personally to feel ok again. Make sure when injecting inferon to do it before bed and take pain meds with it. I would do the shot and feel the side effects about 2-3 hours later. I lost about 2/3rd of my hair but i think it was mainly due to the biochemo. I hope this helps somewhat.

Rjr, I was diagnosed with stage 3b in January of 2013 and in June I started my first round of biochemo which included 3 rounds of inferon after a 5 day hospital stay. I will say that inferon was by far the most painful part of the various drugs I was given but to be fair when I was in the hospital I had full access to strong intravenous pain relivers where as at home I did not, Tylenol and tramadol and lots of hot baths helped take the edge off but you just have to know it is a temporary pain. This was the drug I dreaded the most during treatment. It was only recommended that I do 3 rounds of the biochemo/inferon combo and by the 3rd round I was so sick from the biochemo I refused to do the inferon. It’s still in my fridge. So I was a wuss and only made it through 2 rounds. The main symptom I experienced was the body aches that were miserable. It’s like having the flu times ten. For me it only lasted for a day or two but i had no appetite and constant nausea for weeks at a time. The best advise I can give you is to not let yourself get dehydrated and keep the meds in your system at all times. I ended up in the critical care unit after every round needing fluids because I was so dehydrated that I couldn’t keep the water I used to swallow my meds down with, down. I know this information probably doesn’t make you excited about the possibility of signing up for this treatment option but what got me through it was knowing that I was being proactive in my treatment instead of waiting for the melanoma to show its ugly face again and the fact that I knew it wasn’t going to be forever. We can all do inferon if we put our minds to it. Because I did the combination of bio chemo/inferon I was unable to work for 3 months, but talking to others and with my personal experience with inferon, I can see where it would be possible to work if your only doing weekly injection inferon. Just plan it around two consecutive days off, inject Friday night before bed and I would think you would be ok by monday? Maybe take a week off for your first one to see how long it takes you personally to feel ok again. Make sure when injecting inferon to do it before bed and take pain meds with it. I would do the shot and feel the side effects about 2-3 hours later. I lost about 2/3rd of my hair but i think it was mainly due to the biochemo. I hope this helps somewhat.