I was diagnosed in May 2006 with stage 3A melanoma. I had a wide excision on my leg after a small mole was diagnosed as melanoma. There was a microscopic amount of cancer in the sentinal lymph node, so I later had 8 additional lymph nodes removed. All were clear and my Pet Scan, CT Scans and MRI were clear. My oncologist recommended interferon and told me that the side effects were diffficult, but he told me to try to get through the first month of treatment because this is the most critical in preventing a recurrence. The first 4 weeks is high dose interferon administered 5 days per week intravenously. It was a really bad month -- but it was just ONE month. I slept through most of it and experienced nauseau, weight loss, skin rashes, fatigue, etc. The nausea was the worst part of it for me, but I just kept counting down the days. It was only 4 weeks. At the end of 4 weeks, my oncologist told me that we should try the low dose interferon (3 shots per week) but if I experienced severe side effects we would stop the treatment. I still had side effects such as fatigue, metalic taste in my mouth, some hair loss, skin rashes -- but the nausea subsided and compared to the first month it was easy. I just finished a year of treatment and I am glad I did it. I feel that I have done everything I can to prevent a recurrence. There is a lot of negative information about the side effects of interferon, but everyone has a different reaction and no one should rule it out before trying it. The first month is the most critical, and it is only ONE month. I was out of work for the first month, but returned to work full time for the remainder of the treatment. I am glad the treatment is over, but I am also glad I did it.