We went to good ‘ol U of M again today. It’s been our home away from home, it seems, these past few months! Today was the first time we’ve actually had to wait to see someone. We knew it would be bad when as soon as we sat down, the moaning and complaining began around us, words like “we’ve been waiting over an hour” and “how much longer is it going to be” attacking the nursing staff. I settled in with my paperwork; Mike went in search of food. We got back in the room (finally!) sometime around 4 (our appointment was at 3:00). First, Dr. L’s associate, Dr. Russia came in and talked to us and did a physical exam on me. He promised to discuss everything with Dr. L and they would both be back ‘shortly’. A long time later, they both came in. Thankfully, because we were both absurdly bored; Mike was on his umpteenth game of Paper Toss, I was playing Bejeweled.
Dr. L was very nice and he had a lot of information for us. He seemed to have a little trouble talking in layman’s terms at first, mostly because i think he wanted to share A LOT of details of the medical side of things with us, but didn’t want to go overboard with information. Once he settled in, we learned about the options and it turns out that in my specific case, since the amount of cancer cells found in those two nodes were microscopic, that the best course of treatment is actually no treatment. That is, to be under surveillance (hehe) by having scans and skin checks and such every 3 months, and by checking myself out regularly.
The interferon treatment that we fully expected to be starting in the next couple weeks doesn’t seem to be the best course of action for my situation. If the cells were more, or bigger, then it would be worthwhile, but given the microscopic state of cells and the side effects of interferon, combined with the fact that the interferon might help 1 in 50 people in my specific situation by increasing the cure rate.
All this to say, bottom line:
- No interferon treatments (it’s good news)
- Staples out on Friday
- Drainage tube out within the next 2 weeks (then I can drive and Mike can go back to work!)
- CT scans of body and MRI of brain in the next 2-3 weeks to get a baseline view of my innards.
- Scans and physicals every 3 months for the next year
There are no guarantees. The interferon, though, seems like it wouldn’t provide any benefit at this point. The cure rate at this point (Stage III Melanoma) is 65% within 5 years; the Interferon adds less than 5% to the cure rate within 1 year, but after 5 years studies show it makes no difference.
Honestly, the side effects aren’t worth it. When we first were told about interferon, we thought it was the way to go; the standard of care in my situation. We honestly couldn’t figure out why we wouldn’t do it. Dr. L presented it in a much different light, answered our questions and helped us make our decision.
Obviously, if any of the scans show anything odd or suspicious, things may change, but as of right now, we’re going to hope that the two nodes they took out were all of the cancer that was in me.
I feel like a huge weight has been lifted, to tell the truth. I wasn’t looking forward to the side effects (extreme fatigue, flu-like symptoms), but had we thought it would make a positive difference, I would have done it. That said, I feel like I’ve been given a year with my boys back. I would have been a shell of myself for at least the first 2-3 months and that would have sucked.
So there you have it….good news.
Finally.
Comments (14)
Add a comment