Post-IL-2 Update

Hiho -

It's been  6 weeks since I finished the 6th and final IL-2 treatment.  The major side effects have resolved and  I'm feeling well.  I am starting back to work part-time next week.  Yesterday I had a PET/CT scan, which showed continued improvement, but not complete resolution of the active liver nodules.  There was nothing new or worsening.  While its possible the nodules would continue to improve on their own, my oncologist recommended  I talk to my radiation oncologist about treating the residual nodules with radiation.  I will see him next week and discuss the proposed zapping.  In other news, I have finished building a new front door.  Feel free to knock on it if you're in the neighborhood!  Thanks for your ongoing concern and support.

Kerry

All done!

It was a big day for us -- with meaningful endings and beginnings.  Kerry had his last Interleukin 2 treatment and Seth began college.

Kerry ended up having a total of 5 doses this week which they say is a typical amount for Round 6.  He is elated to have the treatments behind him.  I will miss the amazing sunset views from his room -- as well as some of the nurses -- but that's about all.

Hopefully Kerry will be home tomorrow.

Meanwhile Seth is moved into his dorm room and has started classes.  His only complaint so far is that his room is next to the laundry room for his floor and the squeal of the washer's spin cycle is rather alarming especially at midnight. (Surprisingly, he isn't bothered at all by the trains that run all night long on the track just a few feet from his dorm. Go figure.) Though the newness of everything must be overwhelming for him, he seems to be doing OK.

For the dedicated readers of the blog, I will do sporadic updates for awhile to let you know the results of the treatment. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Round 6 -- Day 2 August 21

So far Kerry has had 2 doses and will likely have another one tonight.  His doctor said that he expects Kerry to get no more than 4-5 doses this week since by the 6th week of treatment that's about the most that patients can tolerate.  Kerry was comfortable but sleepy most of the day.

For those of you wondering about progress getting Seth off to college, so far he has packed nothing and he leaves in 36 hours. He did manage to say farewell to a few more friends today, so I guess that is progress.

Round 6 -- Day 1 August 20

The good news is that Kerry has a room with a great view.  The sunset tonight was amazing.  And its probably the most expensive room in town.  Too bad its in the hospital.

The first dose went pretty well and he got a second dose at 11 pm.

Sean, Tracy and Keenan -- Kerry's brother and family -- have been in town helping out and stayed with Kerry at the hospital today while I worked.  Sean took his guitar and Kerry's banjo to the hospital and they played until Kerry got his 3 pm dose. Apparently there are no hospital rules against bluegrass music -- yet.  Kerry said the only complaint was from a nurse who said they weren't loud enough. (My theory is that the patients were all too weak too complain.)

It should be a crazy around here since Seth starts college on Thursday.  We have done most of the pre-college shopping, but I'm not sure he realizes that he needs to figure out what he is taking and pack.  He is spending every waking moment with his friends saying goodbye and trying (with some sadness) to move on.  I think it will prove to be an emotional week for us all -- Seth saying farewell to his current life, our oldest son leaving home, the realization that Kerry and I will have to figure out how to operate the computer, and writing the enormous check to pay for Seth's education (while he is mostly focused on how much FUN he is going to have.)  All this while Kerry is in the hospital -- wish us luck.

Round 5 -- Finished

Kerry is done for now. His last dose went pretty well with no drastic drops in blood pressure. He had a total of 6 doses this round and will be back in 2 weeks for more fun.   Kerry is sick of hospital food and ready to get home where he can get out of bed whenever he wants without loud alarms going off and where he can go to the bathroom without an audience.

It will be good to have him home -- flaking, snoring and just laying around.  The dog will be happy to have him back too -- Kerry's lap is bigger than mine.

For those of you who need something to look forward to after the Olympics are over, I will start putting up more blog posts when he goes back into the hospital for his next round of treatments on August 20.

Round 5 Day 3

Kerry got one more dose today with a resounding response of shakes and drop in blood pressure.  But thanks to modern medicine and the constant vigilance of the nurses, they got things under control pretty quickly (in 2-3 hours) and he is now stable, doing a crossword puzzle and watching the Olympics.

Probably won't have another dose before tomorrow afternoon as it will take them at least that long to wean him off the neosynephrine they use to keep his blood pressure up.

Today's highlight was seeing Kerry do some exercises in bed with the elastic bands the physical therapist provided as a way to keep his muscles from atrophying too much while confined to bed for the week.  Seeing him do exercises when he is healthy is a very rare site -- so seeing him do them in a hospital bed was definitely a site to remember.

Round 5 Day 2

Going pretty well.  Kerry has had 4 out of 5 possible doses. Side effects didn't really kick in until after the 4th dose with some shakes and low blood pressure.  But he's bouncing back pretty well. Should have a restful night since he didn't get a dose tonight.

We've been watching lots of Olympics -- but it seems like Kerry's a major contender in his own event right now.

July 30 Back in the Saddle Again

Kerry is back in the hospital for treatment 5 of Interleukin 2. He started today and will be in for the rest of the week.  The first dose went well and he will get a second dose later tonight. Kerry has had a few extra weeks off between treatments. and this is expected to allow his body to better tolerate more doses. So far so good.

Our friend Kasia, from Brooklyn, is visiting now and helping with cooking, the kids, and moral support.  Kasia, Seth, :Peter, Kerry and I had a picnic lunch in Kerry's room today before he got his first dose (needless to say we didn't eat hospital food).  Peter spent the afternoon with Kerry watching the movie Gladiator(a hospital room is a perfect setting for the blood and guts in that movie), while Seth went off to his job as a swim instructor. Day 1 has been good.

Feel free to enter the pool on how many doses Kerry will get this week.A dose consists of a 15 minute infusion of 45 ML of Interleukin 2. Kerry's nurse guessed 6, Kerry guessed 5 and I guessed 10 (wanna get our money's worth out of this place). The maximum number of doses possible is 14 -- and the most Kerry has ever gotten is 11.

Thanks for your prayers and good thoughts.

Maggie

Difficulty following hospital instructions

Honest to goodness this is the sign on the wall of Kerry's recovery room.  He's had a hard time following the last goal -- but got to go home anyway.

The hernia surgery was not quite the walk in the park he had hoped for.  The doctor said the 2 hour laparoscopic surgery went well and now that he has some pain meds on board he seems to be doing pretty well.

So now 6 weeks of no heavy lifting -- he may have to get a light weight banjo.

Did someone say hernia?

One of the annoying side effects of the Interleukin 2 treatments is a lingering cough. Unfortunately, this severe coughing has resulted in Kerry developing a couple of small hernias.  If its not one thing, its another...

So this Friday Kerry will be going to the hernia repair shop for a bit of laparoscopic surgery to patch up the hernias before his next round of Interleukin 2. It will be day surgery and recuperation is expected within a week.

Thanks for your continued good thoughts and prayers.

More Good News

Yesterday Kerry had an MRI of his brain and the doctor said "his brain is perfect" (the doctor was busy so I didn't argue) and there is no sign of the little tumor that was there before the Gamma Knife treatment. The PET scan of the rest of his body showed no new tumors, a reduction in the size of the tumor in his liver and less (hardly any) active cancer cells in his liver.  So this means the Interleukin 2 treatments are working and he gets 2 more treatments starting later in July.  The doctor wants to give him time to recuperate from the last treatments so that hopefully he can tolerate more doses.

Thanks to all of you who have been sending good thoughts our way. We feel very lucky.

Maggie

May 24

Cycle 4, Day 4 -- So far 3 doses, but the side effects have been better today.  Less nausea and chills.  Also less neosynephrine needed to keep Kerry's blood pressure up. So even though he says he feels crappy, from the observer's perspective he looks better than last cycle. He'll have one more dose either tonight or tomorrow morning.

For those of you reading this and worrying because it seems a bit more sober  -- please don't read anything into it.  I'm just a bit distracted with getting Seth out of high school (yes, he's keeping us guessing up until the end about whether he can really finish the required work that he neatly neglected) and on the road to college (doesn't seem fare to have to start registration before you are done with high school).  Then there's the cold I have; the Senior Fete this morning where Seth danced with 20 other guys in a mock version of Swan Lake; tonight's music performance (Seth was in the drum line performing a piece called Garbage); and he leaves tomorrow for a 3 day music festival 5 hours away with kids we don't know (he is almost 18 so I guess we don't get to approve his play dates anymore).  So the Blog has been taking it in the shorts.  I apologize to those of you who rely on it for regular updates.  I'll do my best to keep it updated, though it may be "just the facts, mam" for now.

Keep those good vibes coming,

Maggie

May 22

Cycle 4 is going slowly.  Kerry has had 2 out of 5 possible doses of Interlueken 2 because his blood pressure has dropped quickly after each dose and taken awhile to get back to normal.  The doctor says this is normal and to be expected.

It is a bit strange being back for the 4th week.  We know most of the nurses -- which ones are great and which ones are not so great.  Kerry knows the hospital menu well enough to know that the changes they made since last time were not for the best.  And most amusing was the 20 minute video they made him watch telling him all about the hospital unit he is in.  He should have least had a walk on role in it since he's been here so much.

More later.

May 17

I've been taking a bit of a vacation from the blog.  I apologize to those of you who may have been waiting from updates. The problem is that there just isn't much to report.  Kerry is feeling better and is able to do the occasional chore or go for a short walk.  He's still feeling pretty tired though and is taking some nice long naps.  The only unusual thing is that he has started lifting weights -- or should I say cans (of beans).  Spending so much time in bed during the treatments has left his muscles a bit toneless. So he's fighting back and doing a little exercise to try to get back some muscle. He's starting slow with some small cans of beans -- and will probably build up to, who knows, jars of spaghetti sauce. Now this may sound a bit lame -- but to those of you who know him, this type of self directed exercise is highly unusual.  Frankly, I'm not sure what to think about it.

The next treatment starts next Monday.  More then.

May 4

Just a quick update.  Kerry is now finished with Round 3 of the Interleuken 2 treatment.  He finished  a total of 8 doses out of a possible 14 for the week.  He had a couple of days of shake and bake (bad chills and slight fever) followed by pretty low blood pressure. But Demerol, Neosynephrine, Neurontin and a few more medications too numerous to mention got him through the week.  It seems that his reaction to the IL2 is getting more severe -- which they say is to be expected.   So he was not disappointed when they told him this morning that he was done for the week. Hopefully he will come home tomorrow if they can wean him off all of the meds.

Even though he had a room with a tremendous view, we will all be glad for the week to be over and for him to be home where we only have a view of our small back yard. The sadly ironic thing about this great room was that they put the patient bed in a part of the room that didn't have much of a view.   And because he was hooked up to so many things, the bed was not mobile.  Every day I just shook my head and wondered what the hospital designers were thinking.  But I guess that's a minor complaint as long as they can get him through the treatment in one piece.

May 2

Another day, another couple of doses.  Kerry has now had 6 out of 7 possible doses. Missed one due to low blood pressure.  Had pretty bad shakes after the last dose, but is feeling better now. I think they had about 7 heated blankets piled on top of him  -- even had one wrapped around his head.  King Tut, eat your heart out.  Kerry says that in general things are going well since he hasn't "throwed up" yet.

I am coming to realize that bad hearing actually makes this place a lot more interesting.  This afternoon someone knocked on the door and quickly left.  I asked the nurse, who was in our room at the time,who had knocked and I swear  he said " oh that was just the prostitute".  (Actually he had said "that was just a student". )  It was sounding like a much more full service hospital until we got that straightened out.

And a few minutes ago the nurse came in to hang a new bottle of "vino" which unfortunately turned out to be a new bottle of "neo"(neosynephrine -- used to keep Kerry's blood pressure up).

I guess after a few days in this place you just create your own reality...

Kerry says thanks to all of you who have sent words of encouragement. It really means a lot.

Maggie

May 1

Kerry has had 4 of the total possible 14 doses of Interleuken 2.  He hasn't missed any doses so far.  His blood pressure is doing well with the help of a small amount of neosynephrine.  The nurses were stunned over how well he is doing.  Kerry told them that if it made them feel better he still feels pretty crappy -- tired and prickly.  He's snoring now but luckily there aren't too many other patients on the floor right now so he's not keeping any of them awake.  (For those of you who don't know about his snoring, its world class.  The only person I've ever heard snore more loudly is one of his brothers ,who shall remain nameless...).

On a completely unrelated note, for those of you who are interested, Seth made an 11th hour decision about where he will go to college next year.  He will be attending Willamette University, a small university in Salem, Oregon.  It sounds like a good fit for him and a school that can help him realize his goal of doing premed. (They also made a good financial aid offer.) My only complaint is that the mascot is the Bearcat -- which sounds like a very unlikely and uncomfortable genetic mix.

Kerry's advise of the day: "Use your sunblock and get new spots checked". (I think he means spots on your skin -- as opposed to on your shirt or on the floor.)

April 30 -- Round 3 Interleuken 2

Back in the saddle again.  Well back in the hospital bed anyway. Kerry has a primo corner room with a beautiful view of the west hills and the clouds and storms rolling by. Its kind of nice seeing the nurses and hospital staff that were so nice last time. If they just didn't have to torture Kerry with the treatments, this would be like a really nice hotel (where you have to pee in a hat).

Kerry had his first dose this afternoon and he says that it is a lot easier to go through all of this knowing that it is working.

Thanks for your continued support.

Maggie

April 15 - Beating the odds!

Sorry for the delay - Maggie promised I would provide details several days ago, but I am just now getting to it.  One might think that such unexpected good news would result in a burst of energy, but I found the opposite to be true.  I'm at a loss to explain it, but maybe its something like one might feel after running a race or carrying a heavy load for a while, then putting it down.

My last PET/CT scan happened on Monday, April 9.  My radiation oncologist, Dr. Bader, offered to go over my scans immediately after getting them, but Maggie and I found ourselves in a position of wanting to know and not wanting to know, so we let 24 hours pass before I took a look at the scans myself.  I had been feeling a bit more discomfort in the liver area in the previous week, so I was prepared to see worsening.  I'm no radiologist, but seeing less black in the liver area and no new areas of uptake seemed to me like good news.  Dr. Bader confirmed a positive response and added that the large liver tumor was showing a dramatic improvement for this early in treatment, even in areas that had not had radiation - strongly suggesting that I was responding to IL-2!.  On Thursday my medical oncologist, Dr. Smith, said of the response "This is what I live for!", and gave me one of his rare smiles.

Part of my delay in writing this post relates to feeling totally inadequate to express my gratitude to all of you for the outpouring of love and support I have felt from you.  I am pleased to report that your good wishes, prayers, cards, emails, visits, flowers, books, movies, music, and other expressions of love have totally overwhelmed my pessimism about the possibility of a good outcome to this.

The next step is to complete the remaining 4 IL-2 treatments. Each involves a week in the hospital with 2-4 weeks between treatments for recovery.  The treatments have been pretty unpleasant, but knowing they are effective should make them easier to tolerate. With metastatic melanoma, one does not generally speak in terms of a cure, rather one hopes for a "long-term response", and the possibility of more effective and less toxic treatments in the future.  None of us knows how much life we have left, but I seem to have been granted a reprive. Knowing that we have a community that is capable of incredible support in good times and bad is the best possible antidote to mortality.  Thankyou! -Kerry

Good News

News Flash -- the Interluken 2 seems to be working.  Kerry's pet scan showed that the tumors are responding (one is almost gone and the other is greatly reduced in size).  I will let him give everyone the details tonight, but wanted to let you know the latest.

Maggie

March 20

Just wanted to let you know that Kerry is on the road to recuperation from the last Interlucken 2 treatment.  He has dropped 10 of the 28 pounds of water weight that he put on in the hospital and is sloughing skin like a snake going through the change of life. (Have you seen the ads on tv for a pet grooming device that vacuums the hair off of your pet?  I'm wondering if they would work for human skin.)  His appetite is slowly returning and it is easier for him to eat since he didn't get mouth sores after this round of treatment.  Most of his time is spent sleeping and trying to find movies on Netflix worth spending the time watching.  (We are open for suggestions for movies that can be streamed from Netflix).

Turns out that we may be among the last to hear about the flesh eating fish since several of you have told us of your personal knowledge of this oddity.  For the rest of you whose knowledge of new developments in the field of cosmetology is as minimal as ours, here is a photo and article about it. (Kerry specifically asked that this be posted here.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8833304/Health-risk-from-fish-pedicures.html



More in a few days, Maggie

March 16

Round 2, Day 5   Kerry's words of wisdom for the day:  Saliva is highly under rated.  If you don't think so, you don't know spit (or the side effects if his treatments).

Kerry has completed his treatments for the week. Low blood pressure continues to be a controlling factor for whether he gets a dose.  They are keeping his blood pressure artificially high (ie in the normal range) with neosynephrine -- checking his blood pressure every 15 minutes and adjusting the neosynephrine accordingly (try getting any sleep with that kind of attention). He got 7 out of 14 possible doses this week.   They say that 8 seems to be the average for the second week of treatment -- so I guess he did pretty well. When the doctor asked him how he felt about not getting any more doses this week, he responded "Relieved!".

As of this morning, Kerry had gained 20 pounds of water weight.  They had to cut his ID bracelet off because it got too tight. His eyes were pretty darned puffy too. Since most of the water weight settles with gravity, I can now confirm that he has a good butt.

Kerry will have 4-6 weeks off before they do a scan to see if the treatments are working. He will go home tomorrow or Sunday (when all of his labs are within the acceptable range) and be on the couch for the next week sleeping and shedding skin (another lovely side effect of the IL2).  One of the nurses suggested that we look into going to Viet Nam where they have fish that do pedicures.  Apparently, you put your feet in a pool with live fish that gently nibble the dead skin off of your feet.  Not sure how this would work with Kerry since every inch of his body is peeling -- but its worth looking into in our spare time.

March 14

Rouns 2 -- Day 3

Not much to report.  Kerry's blood pressure was too low to get 2 doses in a row today. He's had 5 doses out of a possible 7 so far this week.  They are giving him neosynephrine to keep his blood pressure up.  No other major symptoms except the very sunburned looking skin which is a bit itchy.  Today has mostly been napping between nurse visits.

More tomorrow.

March 13

Round 2, Day 2

To bring those of you we don't speak to regularly up to speed, Kerry was home for the last 2 weeks recuperating from his last round of Interluken 2.  By the end of the 2 weeks, he said he was feeling about 90-95% of normal (with the exception of having itchy skin).  He was even able to go to a bluegrass jam -- which I think for him is similar to a long session of meditation.  That 2 week respite ended yesterday when he started Round 2 of the Interluken 2 treatment.  This round will be another 5-6 days in the hospital.  He will have 14 possible infusions of IL2 (every 8 hours for 5 days -- just like last time.)  The nurses worn us that many patients don't get as many the second time because patients have a stronger reaction. So far he has had 4 infusions.

They say that the response is unpredictable from one week of Interluken 2 treatment to the next -- and that seems to be true for Kerry too.  This time Kerry started off with prickly skin and low blood pressure after the first bolus of IL2. So they are giving him IVs of saline and, if needed,  neosynephrine  to keep his blood pressure up. I kinda feel like he is a big cake for which they are trying to get all of the ingredients right -- but the way the ingredients react is unpredictable.  Anyway, nothing life threatening so far.  Also he hasn't had any of the bad chills or fevers yet.  Last night he thought he was having a weird reaction because his nose was getting really cold -- but it turned out that heat in his room had gone out temporarily and the temperature had dropped to 64 degrees (pretty cold when your wearing one of the open backed hospital gowns).


Seth came over to the hospital last night and watched a movie with Kerry. Another potential side effect of the medicine is that Kerry seems to be watching a lot of foreign kung-fu/chase type movies which have not previously been in his repertoire. No one warned us about that.  But we really have been appreciating the gift of  a few months of Netflix to get us through the long days in the hospital when Kerry is not napping or being prodded by a nurse.

March 6

Things are prgressing.  Kerry is feeling stronger by the day. He is now vertical as much as horizontal. His spirits seem good -- especially when friends and family are visiting.  His brother Sean is here for a couple of nights and is always a welcome guest. And his friend Dan came down from Seattle to visit yesterday. We are working diligently to put back on the pounds Kerry dropped during the last Interluken 2 treatment and with the generous amounts of food that keep coming in from our friends, that shouldn't be hard.  For all of you sending cards, music, art, books, Netflix, movies -- he is very touched and this show of support can't help but be healing.

Gradual improvement is happening.  Kerry says he's molting -- leaving a trail of skin flakes wherever he goes. Most of his mouth sores are better. Food tastes pretty normal.  Kerry is glad have 2 weeks to recuperate before the next treatment.

Maggie                                                                      

Home again

Kerry got home around 1 pm.  Peter was delighted to see Kerry walk in the door -- as he said in the get well card he sent his Dad, it was "very lonely around the house without [him].  There is nobody who will actually beat me in pingpong."  Seth will also be happy to see him tonight when he gets home from the play he is teching for today.

Now its just time to sleep and recuperate.  He's firmly established himself on the futon couch with the dog on his lap giving comfort in the only way she knows how.

Day 5

Today was a day of sleep and recuperation for Kerry.  Though he was scheduled to have 3 more doses of Interluken 2, he did not receive any.  His vital signs and labs were all fine, but the nurses felt he was just too wiped out to have any more. Apparently this is a common occurrence with Interluken 2.  Rarely do  patients get all 14 scheduled doses.  Kerry had 11 of the 14 possible doses. (If  a patient misses a dose, they don't make it up at the end.)  Though this seems disappointing to me, they assure us that this just means the meds are working. And for those of you who want details, the itching is about stopped and his skin is red and starting to peel.  So barring any new developments, he will go home tomorrow afternoon where he will only have a spouse and 2 teenagers to bother him instead of several nurses.

Maggie

Day 4

Today was the day of itchiness.  One of the side effects of Interluken 2 is the effect on the skin which makes it feel sunburned and very, very itchy. He looks like he's been out on the beach all day -- and is now dealing with the after effects.  Despite several oral medications, including Benadryl, and lots of lotion -- the itchiness persists.  The itchiness is primarily on his trunk and makes it really hard for
Kerry to sleep.

He's now had 10 out of 14 doses. Only one more day of treatment to go -- then they will keep him in the hospital for an additional day or 2 until the effects of the treatment subside some.

Half Way Mark

Kerry completed 7 of his 14 doses of Interluken 2 today. He is tolerating it pretty well -- still feels feverish a few hours after the dose, but they are now giving him medication which has stopped the chills. Major pastime is sleeping -- or at least trying to sleep. During the day, there's always a friend or family member here -- and plenty of nurses to prod him and give him meds around the clock.  Seth thought he should have the banjo at the hospital and play it in his free time.  Kerry had to explain that other patients may not feel the healing power of the banjo the way that he does.

For those of you that know about the severe neck problems Kerry has had the last couple of weeks, I wanted to mention that his neck is substantially better.

Thanks for all of your kind thoughts and deeds.  We have felt well supported with meals, cards, e-mails, and friends to spell me at the hospital.

Maggie

The treament starts

Yesterday Kerry started his first day of treatment with Interluken 2 (IL2) in Providence Cancer Center here in Portland.  Its a nice newish facility just a few blocks from our house.  He is in Room 711.  The treatment consists of  getting the IL2 three times each day at 7 am, 3 pm and 11 pm.  He gets IL2 through a port in his neck and it takes about 15 minutes for them to drip it in. The first 2 doses went quite smoothly with the only side effects being a bit of a flushed feeling.  Dose 3 came with some chills that started about 2 hours after getting the IL2 and subsided with the help of warm blankets and Demerol. (Kerry says that one of the nicknames for IL2 is Shake N' Bake.) They are also giving him Advil and Tylenol to stave off aches and pains and chills and fevers -- in addition to an antibiotic to prevent an infection in his port.  

This definitely is not the place to come to rest.  I haven't kept track -- but it seems like someone comes in at least every 15 minutes and they have all been very nice and professional.  They check his vital signs every 2 hours, give him his meds every few hours, and bring him meals. They also come in to take him to the bathroom since his is not allowed to get up without a nurse.  One of the side effects is low blood pressure and they don't want him passing out in the bathroom (so far so good) -- but there's nothing like the pressure of having a 20 something year old nurse stand there watching you pee.

He succeeded in amusing the nurse when we checked in. When asked about his religious beliefs he said he believed in Bluegrass and when asked if he had any special cultural practices, he confessed that he believed in the healing power of the banjo.

Last night the kids came to the hospital for awhile and we all watched a bit of NCIS.  Peter was very impressed by all of the equipment they have -- much of it very colorful. 

Kerry asked me to pass on that the side effects so far are not horrible and have all been managed well. When I am not here, we have friends who have volunteered to come in and sit with him.  Its nice to have someone here to be his advocate -- get him water, get the nurse to bring warm blankets, put on a new DVD or get him his Ipod. Our friends and family have been amazing -- sending moral support, food and love.  Thank you all so much.

Tues. 2/14

Greetings friends!  My endoscopic ultrasound last wednesday was like most endoscopies - a brief nap at the end of a long fast.  Despite the bright spot on the PET scan, there was nothing found on the ultrasound or biopsy, so suddenly I was down to 3 tumors.  This morning I had a Gamma Knife treatment to address a small, 14 mm tumor in my right frontal lobe. If you ever need one, Dr Steven Bader is your man - competent, caring and funny.  The procedure focuses 192 columated beams of cobalt-generared gamma rays on an area as small as 4 mm. (No one has yet been able to tell me where the smoke goes.) Since the energy is divided by 192, the tissues not in the focus area receive very littlle radiation.  It is painless and very quick, except for the part where they screw the indexing box to your skull.  That stings a bit. So now I'm down to 2 tumors.

I plan to start Interlukin 2 (IL2) next monday the 20th. It will entail being in the hospital 5 days at a time with IV treatments 3 times a day, 2 weeks at home to recover and then a second round.  If the melanoma responds, by getting smaller or at least not growing, I will get a total 6 treatments  The side effects include the usual nausea and fatigue, but also blood pressure problems and arrhythmias.  If I don't get a response, there are numerous other treatments - some FDA-approved, most experimental.  I have complete confidence in my oncologist, Dr. John Smith,  We are fortunate to have trmendous melanoma expertise in Portland, and the new Providence Cancer center is quite pleasant. That's all for now, I have pulmonary function testing, apt. w/ Dr. Bader and , PT in the morning.  My spirits are good and my family is here.  My profound thanks to those who have provided meals and those who are taking care of my patients in my absence.  Kerry

                                "The Paddler with the Sucker, and the Plucker with the Pucker!"

2/18

This all started on January 18 when after some abdominal discomfort Kerry's doctor ordered an ultrasound.  They found a large tumor in his liver.  A followup petscan and a biopsy showed that the melanoma he first had 9 years ago has returned.  He  has a total of 4 tumors -- in his liver, back muscle, brain and esophagus. 

The current plan is to treat the brain tumor with gamma knife (a type of radiation), treat the back muscle tumor with radiation, and start chemo on 2/20.  The treatment, Interluken 2, is pretty nasty and requires him to be in the hospital for 5 days.  Then out of the hospital for 2 weeks and then back in the hospital for 5 days for another treatment. If it seems to be effective, this month long treatment will be repeated 2 more times with a month off between treatments.

I'll try to give updates once a week to let you know how things are going.