Sylatron

Hi Teri!

My husband is stage IIIa from june 2012 At that time the oncologist gave him two options:  watch and wait or pegylated interferon for 2 years. He did not felt comfortable with doing nothing,  so He started  pegylated interferon on October 2012.

MY husband is with pegylated interferon since October 2012, he has a normal life , working full time. The  most annoying symptom is fatigue and infertility.  My husband is now 40 years old, he  has its scan every 6 months and blood checks , and these last two months  he did 2 PET, thank god he's fine for now.

If the November SCAN will be  ok, my husband ended treatment with pegylated interferon  in 3 months.

I write the link where I describe the effects of treatment

http://www.melanoma.org/find-support/patient-community/mpip-melanoma-patients-information-page/experience-pegylated

However the side effects vary from person to person

good luck

Greetings

Gaby

 

Hi Teri!

My husband is stage IIIa from june 2012 At that time the oncologist gave him two options:  watch and wait or pegylated interferon for 2 years. He did not felt comfortable with doing nothing,  so He started  pegylated interferon on October 2012.

MY husband is with pegylated interferon since October 2012, he has a normal life , working full time. The  most annoying symptom is fatigue and infertility.  My husband is now 40 years old, he  has its scan every 6 months and blood checks , and these last two months  he did 2 PET, thank god he's fine for now.

If the November SCAN will be  ok, my husband ended treatment with pegylated interferon  in 3 months.

I write the link where I describe the effects of treatment

http://www.melanoma.org/find-support/patient-community/mpip-melanoma-patients-information-page/experience-pegylated

However the side effects vary from person to person

good luck

Greetings

Gaby

 

Hi Teri!

My husband is stage IIIa from june 2012 At that time the oncologist gave him two options:  watch and wait or pegylated interferon for 2 years. He did not felt comfortable with doing nothing,  so He started  pegylated interferon on October 2012.

MY husband is with pegylated interferon since October 2012, he has a normal life , working full time. The  most annoying symptom is fatigue and infertility.  My husband is now 40 years old, he  has its scan every 6 months and blood checks , and these last two months  he did 2 PET, thank god he's fine for now.

If the November SCAN will be  ok, my husband ended treatment with pegylated interferon  in 3 months.

I write the link where I describe the effects of treatment

http://www.melanoma.org/find-support/patient-community/mpip-melanoma-patients-information-page/experience-pegylated

However the side effects vary from person to person

good luck

Greetings

Gaby

 

I am stage 3b, I did a combination of bio chemotherapy and pegylated inferon in the summer of 2013, I was unable to work due to my symptoms mainly from the biochemo part, but I will tell you that the inferon was the drug I dredded the most, I think it could have been the physiological part of knowing that I wasn’t in the hospital with access to pain meds. But the inferon was the hardest part to get through. Body aches were almost unbearable, hot baths, heating blankets, and making sure to keep up on your pain meds is so important. I understand that a lot of people don’t think that inferon is a good idea because of how much you suffer and it doesn’t necessarily increase your survival rates but I was not a person that could just sit back and wait. I am 29 years old with a husband and two kids, I had to do something even if it only meant that my chances on survival were increased by 1%. The 1% was worth feeling crappie for a couple of months. No one can tell you how to react when your told you only have _% of being alive in 5 years. Try to look at things logically not statisticly.

I am stage 3b, I did a combination of bio chemotherapy and pegylated inferon in the summer of 2013, I was unable to work due to my symptoms mainly from the biochemo part, but I will tell you that the inferon was the drug I dredded the most, I think it could have been the physiological part of knowing that I wasn’t in the hospital with access to pain meds. But the inferon was the hardest part to get through. Body aches were almost unbearable, hot baths, heating blankets, and making sure to keep up on your pain meds is so important. I understand that a lot of people don’t think that inferon is a good idea because of how much you suffer and it doesn’t necessarily increase your survival rates but I was not a person that could just sit back and wait. I am 29 years old with a husband and two kids, I had to do something even if it only meant that my chances on survival were increased by 1%. The 1% was worth feeling crappie for a couple of months. No one can tell you how to react when your told you only have _% of being alive in 5 years. Try to look at things logically not statisticly.

I am stage 3b, I did a combination of bio chemotherapy and pegylated inferon in the summer of 2013, I was unable to work due to my symptoms mainly from the biochemo part, but I will tell you that the inferon was the drug I dredded the most, I think it could have been the physiological part of knowing that I wasn’t in the hospital with access to pain meds. But the inferon was the hardest part to get through. Body aches were almost unbearable, hot baths, heating blankets, and making sure to keep up on your pain meds is so important. I understand that a lot of people don’t think that inferon is a good idea because of how much you suffer and it doesn’t necessarily increase your survival rates but I was not a person that could just sit back and wait. I am 29 years old with a husband and two kids, I had to do something even if it only meant that my chances on survival were increased by 1%. The 1% was worth feeling crappie for a couple of months. No one can tell you how to react when your told you only have _% of being alive in 5 years. Try to look at things logically not statisticly.

I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis.  A cancer diagnosis is such a hard thing to get your mind around.  But please be encouraged, we were both very overwhelmed and grieving the first 3 months after my husband's Stage 3A diagnosis in June 2014, but now that we have made our treatment decision and are fully confident in our plan of action, we both feel like the fog has lifted and we are regaining some of our "pre-cancer" life back.  

Ben had a total LND under his right arm, his primary was on his chest.  Post surgery, he was given the option of Intron-A (interferon) or Sylatron.  Initially we thought Sylatron was the right answer due to the very sugar-coated info that medical staff gave us.  But after our extensive research, the side-effects do not seem to be significantly less than that of Intron-A, not to mention that it would have been a 5-year treatment.  Sure, its only 1 shot each week, but 5 years is a LONG time.  They even recommended taking the shot on Friday evening, and having the weekend to recover from the side effects…and by Monday you would feel well enough to return to work.  How depressing is it to think of being ill every single weekend for the next 5 years?!?  And the bottom line — the overall survival rate is not affected.  

After seeking consults from 2 oncologists, a surgical oncologist, and 2 alternative medical "doctors", plus hours of research, we decided to forgo treatment, and do periodic clinic monitoring.  Not to mention lots of diet changes, supplements, essential oils and lots of exercise.  Ben is in the bed shape of his life, heading to the Bahamas for a mission trip next week, and training for a 10K mud run in October.  Life is so precious, and unpredictable.  We would rather live life to its fullest than willingly succumb to potentially ineffective treatments that will most certainly deteriorate his quality of life.

I definitely recommend you get a second opinion prior to starting any treatment, or prior to forgoing treatment.  So many times, a fresh set of eyes can pick up on something that can change the course of action.  

Best of luck to you!

I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis.  A cancer diagnosis is such a hard thing to get your mind around.  But please be encouraged, we were both very overwhelmed and grieving the first 3 months after my husband's Stage 3A diagnosis in June 2014, but now that we have made our treatment decision and are fully confident in our plan of action, we both feel like the fog has lifted and we are regaining some of our "pre-cancer" life back.  

Ben had a total LND under his right arm, his primary was on his chest.  Post surgery, he was given the option of Intron-A (interferon) or Sylatron.  Initially we thought Sylatron was the right answer due to the very sugar-coated info that medical staff gave us.  But after our extensive research, the side-effects do not seem to be significantly less than that of Intron-A, not to mention that it would have been a 5-year treatment.  Sure, its only 1 shot each week, but 5 years is a LONG time.  They even recommended taking the shot on Friday evening, and having the weekend to recover from the side effects…and by Monday you would feel well enough to return to work.  How depressing is it to think of being ill every single weekend for the next 5 years?!?  And the bottom line — the overall survival rate is not affected.  

After seeking consults from 2 oncologists, a surgical oncologist, and 2 alternative medical "doctors", plus hours of research, we decided to forgo treatment, and do periodic clinic monitoring.  Not to mention lots of diet changes, supplements, essential oils and lots of exercise.  Ben is in the bed shape of his life, heading to the Bahamas for a mission trip next week, and training for a 10K mud run in October.  Life is so precious, and unpredictable.  We would rather live life to its fullest than willingly succumb to potentially ineffective treatments that will most certainly deteriorate his quality of life.

I definitely recommend you get a second opinion prior to starting any treatment, or prior to forgoing treatment.  So many times, a fresh set of eyes can pick up on something that can change the course of action.  

Best of luck to you!

I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis.  A cancer diagnosis is such a hard thing to get your mind around.  But please be encouraged, we were both very overwhelmed and grieving the first 3 months after my husband's Stage 3A diagnosis in June 2014, but now that we have made our treatment decision and are fully confident in our plan of action, we both feel like the fog has lifted and we are regaining some of our "pre-cancer" life back.  

Ben had a total LND under his right arm, his primary was on his chest.  Post surgery, he was given the option of Intron-A (interferon) or Sylatron.  Initially we thought Sylatron was the right answer due to the very sugar-coated info that medical staff gave us.  But after our extensive research, the side-effects do not seem to be significantly less than that of Intron-A, not to mention that it would have been a 5-year treatment.  Sure, its only 1 shot each week, but 5 years is a LONG time.  They even recommended taking the shot on Friday evening, and having the weekend to recover from the side effects…and by Monday you would feel well enough to return to work.  How depressing is it to think of being ill every single weekend for the next 5 years?!?  And the bottom line — the overall survival rate is not affected.  

After seeking consults from 2 oncologists, a surgical oncologist, and 2 alternative medical "doctors", plus hours of research, we decided to forgo treatment, and do periodic clinic monitoring.  Not to mention lots of diet changes, supplements, essential oils and lots of exercise.  Ben is in the bed shape of his life, heading to the Bahamas for a mission trip next week, and training for a 10K mud run in October.  Life is so precious, and unpredictable.  We would rather live life to its fullest than willingly succumb to potentially ineffective treatments that will most certainly deteriorate his quality of life.

I definitely recommend you get a second opinion prior to starting any treatment, or prior to forgoing treatment.  So many times, a fresh set of eyes can pick up on something that can change the course of action.  

Best of luck to you!