Details about Interleukin-2 (IL-2) Treatment

Good morning, all!

Sorry I haven't added a post in the last few days. I just haven't had anything else to add.

After talking with the nurse at Providence Medical Center, and reading through a packet of information she sent me, I think the next week is going to be very, um, interesting, if nothing else.

I check in to the hospital at 7:30 a.m. They will take Dave and me to my very own private room on Floor 5K (the oncology floor) where we settle in, and I then get a central intravenous line into my upper chest or neck to allow for ease of getting my doses. After all that, I will get my first dose around 3:00 p.m. Monday afternoon. I then get doses every 8 hours through 11 p.m. Friday night up to 14 doses. Because of side effects, the majority of people have to skip at least one dose, with an average of 11-12 doses taken. I'll then be released some time on Saturday morning, depending upon whether I continue to have any side effects.

Oh, the side effects. Oh boy. Nausea and diarrhea. Itchy skin and flushing. And Capillary Leak Syndrome. Sometimes the Interleukin-2 (IL-2) will result in blood leaking from capillaries into adjacent tissues, resulting in low blood pressure. Oh Boy.

The nice thing about Providence, is that I can get up and move around between doses. There is a kitchen with snacks and drinks. I'm only hooked up to the intravenous line for the dose (20-30 min), and then I'm cut loose. Of course, I may not feel up to much of anything. The nurse told me to expect a feeling of general malaise, or, as she put it, general blech. I can't leave Floor 5K after I start the IL-2 treatment, as if my blood pressure suddenly drops, they don't want to have to pick me up off the sidewalk outside after I faint. Additionally, they have to take vital signs every 2 hours around the clock. So I won't be feeling well, which will be compounded by the fact that I won't be getting ANY good sleep. Bah. But that's what you have to do to get well from the Evil Melanoma!

Dave has a choice. He can either (a) sleep on a cot in my room nightly, (b) pay for a motel room, or (c) go stay with a friend. All three options have their pros and cons. The nice thing about staying at the hospital is that he will be close, very close, and its free! On the other hand, cots are uncomfortable, he'll have to eat hospital cafeteria food or leave for meals, and the vitals-check-every-two-hours may result in a lack of sleep. Staying at a motel room would allow for a place to get away for a bit, but we'd have to pay for a week of it! If he stays with friends, he'll be a bit farther away from the hospital, but will have meal options and have a place to get away from the stress of the hospital. I have a feeling he will use a mix of both (a) and (c). We shall see.

The documentation sent to us from the hospital brought a little more clarity on how the IL-2 treatment schedule works. We start with one week in the hospital, 2 weeks off, one week in the hospital, then a month off. After 1 month, I will go through a PET scan to determine whether there was any change in my tumors (no growth or a decrease in size). We are rooting for either at this point, but a decrease is the best result! My doctor will then decide whether to do another cycle or not, for up to 6 cycles. During our consultation visit, I'm pretty sure he said that even if there is no obvious change after the 1st cycle, we'd do it again, as sometimes change doesn't show up until a couple of cycles. We'll see. While I tried to stay focused during the consultation visit, Dr. Crocenzi has a quiet, monotonous voice, and at times I'll admit that I zoned out. Oh lordy -- shades of sleeping through college classes!

They try to make the oncology floor as informal as possible. I can bring my own jammies, and a favorite pillow. They have wireless internet, so the laptop is coming with me (!), and a cell phone is allowed. When I'm feeling up to it, I'll try to blog every day to keep you all updated. I won't know my room number until we get there. You can either email me, phone me, or ask at the front desk for my room number if you visit. There are no set visiting hours, so you can come whenever you want. I'd love to hear or see from many of you.

OK. I'd better get to work. I'm currently sitting in a coffee shop in Pullman getting ready to get some thesis work done. Dave has a medical procedure requiring general anaesthesia this morning. I dropped him off at 7:00 am at the hospital, and then took off for the coffee shop. Hey! Just because I didn't stay around the hospital waiting room for 3 hours sitting on pins and needles does not mean I don't care! Those chairs are uncomfortable! They don't have wireless internet! Its sooo long! Besides, isn't that what cell phones are really for?? That way you don't have to wait around? That's what I think, anyway... ;)

Cheryl