Intron Treatments

My husband has been going through the first few weeks of treatment. He has been having SEVERE headaches with the treatments and high fevers and chills. He has been diagnosed with stage IIIB melanoma. Has anyone out there had such SEVERE headaches with this treatment. It is so bad that he is considering opting out of the treatment. He has come so far though and I think he should continue even though I know it is easy for me to say that but I have been watching him slowly regress and get weaker and depressed. He is 41 years old. I still think he should continue because he has come 60% done and 8 more days of weekly treatment left. I'm scared for him. This is very frightening. He has always been the healthy one! Any information would be helpful. Thanks

Hello, I am currently using interferon therapy for stage 3 melamona(43 years old).  What are Intron treatments?  How long is the protocol for taking the drug?  I am curious because I am trying to make a decision on my next step.

Thanks!  I will say a prayer for your husband.

Janice

Intron is a brand name for interferon.  For stage 3 its a month of daily IV and 11 months of SQ.  This reduces the chance of recurrence by 10-15%.

 

 

Thanks for the information.  I was wondering were the 10 to 15% reoccurance ratio is published.  Is there more documentation / studies to read?  How do I access this information?

 

here is some info from NCI:

 

http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/results/high-dose-inter

Tell him to hold out through the High dose treatments, i've been told by many oncologists that it is the most beneficial part of the treatment. I've had every symptom you explained including the ridiculous headaches. I'm nearly 4 months on the maintenace dose and honestly i still get em.