RCC Stage 3

FYI...............My husband was 38 and when he was diag. in 2004 with RCC.......the doctors removed his right kidney............they said it had mets to one lymph node and removed it................they said it would most likey not retrun..........it did............one year later.......................3 more lymphs nodes were involved................they couldnt do any type of surgery because the lymph nodes were located between the vena cava and the other blood vesssel..........they told us to get our affairs in order that he only had appox. 2 years to live................we were sent to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL. We saw Dr. Fishman which gave my husband a 3% chance that the meds would work................he was given 50 million units if Interluken 2 three times a day for 6 weeks..........they checked the nodes after the treatment and they were completely gone....my husband was very luck to have fallen into the 3% catagory.........now they told him he has a 90% chance it will not return...........its been 5 years now and he is still doing very well..........no cancer at all........................if anyone is looking for treatment options this treatment is a VERY VERY harsh treatment...............much worse than chemo or radiation...................but it does work if you can survive ALL the bad side effects.................this drug in a immunotheopy (sp)....... the doc at Moffitt told us that if he were to be given the chemo or radiation it would be like drinking a glass of water................it just would not work............when my husband had the drug it was still in the experimental phase but since has been approved by the food and drug.................it is also used to treat people with HIV/AIDS to boost there immune system so it can help fight itself........................ i just want everyone out there to know about this drug............some of the other drugs say they work but i know first hand about IL2 and it does indeed work.........................suzanne

Hello:

Glad to hear your husband had a great response to IL-2! Consider him very lucky and with the grace of God, given another chance.

Unfortunately, high dose IL-2 does not work for everyone. The odds are very low but to some, worth it. I underwent high dose IL-2 last year. It did not work for me.

If you are in good health, and with the proper type of renal cancer, it maybe a good option before the targeted therapy is tried.

Wish you both the best

Krys