› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Husband Starts Yervoy Tomorrow
- This topic has 15 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 10 months ago by
HopefulOne.
- Post
-
- July 1, 2013 at 2:16 pm
Hi all … tomorrow (July 2) my husband starts ipilumumab. I'm hopeful yet incredibly nervous. I've detailed our journey in my profile but basically just over six weeks ago he had a melanoma tumor removed that was growing around his spinal cord and was also treated with radiation (as they couldn't remove the whole tumor). Just within the past day or two, he has been more like himself. Less pain though some fatigue and bowel issues from the radiation.
Hi all … tomorrow (July 2) my husband starts ipilumumab. I'm hopeful yet incredibly nervous. I've detailed our journey in my profile but basically just over six weeks ago he had a melanoma tumor removed that was growing around his spinal cord and was also treated with radiation (as they couldn't remove the whole tumor). Just within the past day or two, he has been more like himself. Less pain though some fatigue and bowel issues from the radiation. Now we start the next phase of his treatment with his first infusion of Yervoy and I'm just so worried about how he'll react to it. I know nobody can predict this and I'm not sure the purpose of my post except to hear some encouraging words of support. I'm sorry – this is my first post though I've read many of your moving stories. I hope and pray that someday I'll be able to offer others on here the same support and a story of success that brings hope. Thanks. Kimberly
- Replies
-
-
- July 1, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Kimberly,
In addition to the success many patients have had with Yervoy, here's a ray of hope for you – a study was just released showing that people with recurrence after 10 years are less likely to die of the disease than those whose recurrence was less than three years after initial diagnosis.
Hang in there – and please keep us posted!
~Hazel
-
- July 1, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Kimberly,
In addition to the success many patients have had with Yervoy, here's a ray of hope for you – a study was just released showing that people with recurrence after 10 years are less likely to die of the disease than those whose recurrence was less than three years after initial diagnosis.
Hang in there – and please keep us posted!
~Hazel
-
- July 1, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Kimberly,
In addition to the success many patients have had with Yervoy, here's a ray of hope for you – a study was just released showing that people with recurrence after 10 years are less likely to die of the disease than those whose recurrence was less than three years after initial diagnosis.
Hang in there – and please keep us posted!
~Hazel
-
- July 2, 2013 at 4:15 pm
Hello Kimberly,
My husbnd started Ipi in March 2011 and he was on the arm with Ipi and GM-CSF (this is a self injection for 14 days and then none for 7 days) Clinical Trial. He didn't have many side effects from it. We watched the sub q's go down and away it was great. He had the original 4 doses and then has been in the maintenance phase ever since finishing the original meaning he gets a dose every 12 weeks. For 9 months he has been NED (no evidence of disease). You can read more on his profile.
Just wanted you to know it worked for him and it might for your husband as well. Having a good positive mental attitude helps as well as having your Vitamin D checked and keeping it under control as well.
Judy (loving wife of Gene, Stage IV and now NED)
-
- July 2, 2013 at 4:15 pm
Hello Kimberly,
My husbnd started Ipi in March 2011 and he was on the arm with Ipi and GM-CSF (this is a self injection for 14 days and then none for 7 days) Clinical Trial. He didn't have many side effects from it. We watched the sub q's go down and away it was great. He had the original 4 doses and then has been in the maintenance phase ever since finishing the original meaning he gets a dose every 12 weeks. For 9 months he has been NED (no evidence of disease). You can read more on his profile.
Just wanted you to know it worked for him and it might for your husband as well. Having a good positive mental attitude helps as well as having your Vitamin D checked and keeping it under control as well.
Judy (loving wife of Gene, Stage IV and now NED)
-
- July 2, 2013 at 4:15 pm
Hello Kimberly,
My husbnd started Ipi in March 2011 and he was on the arm with Ipi and GM-CSF (this is a self injection for 14 days and then none for 7 days) Clinical Trial. He didn't have many side effects from it. We watched the sub q's go down and away it was great. He had the original 4 doses and then has been in the maintenance phase ever since finishing the original meaning he gets a dose every 12 weeks. For 9 months he has been NED (no evidence of disease). You can read more on his profile.
Just wanted you to know it worked for him and it might for your husband as well. Having a good positive mental attitude helps as well as having your Vitamin D checked and keeping it under control as well.
Judy (loving wife of Gene, Stage IV and now NED)
-
- July 21, 2013 at 10:49 am
A quick update on my husband. He’s supposed to have his second infusion of ipi this Tuesday, July 23. But I’m not sure if that’s going to happen. During the last week, he’s had increased stomach pain and BMs. He kept insisting that it was from the radiation. He feels nauseous almost all day and gets bad stomach pain until he goes to the bathroom and even then the discomfort continues. His BMs increased from once or twice a day before radiation to 3-5 times a day after radiation. Then last night (Saturday) he went probably 5-6 times in three hours and 8 times throughout the day. We called the answering service at 11:30 last night. They said if nobody calls in 20 minutes to call back. Well while we were waiting my husband fell asleep and was peaceful through the night. And I didn’t call back. If he does better today, I’m thinking we’ll just wait until Monday to talk to his doctor. I can’t say I’m confident in the on-call person since we didn’t get a call back.It’s just so confusing. How do you know if it’s just the side effects of radiation. Or the ipi. Or if last night was just a normal bout of diarrhea. Or does it not matter what the cause is? I’m so paranoid from all the literature. But how fast does colitis turn serious? Can we wait until Tuesday when we see the doctor?
Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.
-
- July 21, 2013 at 10:49 am
A quick update on my husband. He’s supposed to have his second infusion of ipi this Tuesday, July 23. But I’m not sure if that’s going to happen. During the last week, he’s had increased stomach pain and BMs. He kept insisting that it was from the radiation. He feels nauseous almost all day and gets bad stomach pain until he goes to the bathroom and even then the discomfort continues. His BMs increased from once or twice a day before radiation to 3-5 times a day after radiation. Then last night (Saturday) he went probably 5-6 times in three hours and 8 times throughout the day. We called the answering service at 11:30 last night. They said if nobody calls in 20 minutes to call back. Well while we were waiting my husband fell asleep and was peaceful through the night. And I didn’t call back. If he does better today, I’m thinking we’ll just wait until Monday to talk to his doctor. I can’t say I’m confident in the on-call person since we didn’t get a call back.It’s just so confusing. How do you know if it’s just the side effects of radiation. Or the ipi. Or if last night was just a normal bout of diarrhea. Or does it not matter what the cause is? I’m so paranoid from all the literature. But how fast does colitis turn serious? Can we wait until Tuesday when we see the doctor?
Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.
-
- July 21, 2013 at 10:49 am
A quick update on my husband. He’s supposed to have his second infusion of ipi this Tuesday, July 23. But I’m not sure if that’s going to happen. During the last week, he’s had increased stomach pain and BMs. He kept insisting that it was from the radiation. He feels nauseous almost all day and gets bad stomach pain until he goes to the bathroom and even then the discomfort continues. His BMs increased from once or twice a day before radiation to 3-5 times a day after radiation. Then last night (Saturday) he went probably 5-6 times in three hours and 8 times throughout the day. We called the answering service at 11:30 last night. They said if nobody calls in 20 minutes to call back. Well while we were waiting my husband fell asleep and was peaceful through the night. And I didn’t call back. If he does better today, I’m thinking we’ll just wait until Monday to talk to his doctor. I can’t say I’m confident in the on-call person since we didn’t get a call back.It’s just so confusing. How do you know if it’s just the side effects of radiation. Or the ipi. Or if last night was just a normal bout of diarrhea. Or does it not matter what the cause is? I’m so paranoid from all the literature. But how fast does colitis turn serious? Can we wait until Tuesday when we see the doctor?
Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.
-
- July 1, 2013 at 3:26 pm
Hi Hazel,
Thank you for your message. I did just see that study news (I search Google News every day for the latest news on melanoma) and am always so encouraged by the latest breaking news regarding melanoma research. My greatest wish is that a cure comes quickly for all of us affected by this insidious disease. Thanks again for your positive spirit. I will definitely post updates.
Kimberly
-
- July 1, 2013 at 3:26 pm
Hi Hazel,
Thank you for your message. I did just see that study news (I search Google News every day for the latest news on melanoma) and am always so encouraged by the latest breaking news regarding melanoma research. My greatest wish is that a cure comes quickly for all of us affected by this insidious disease. Thanks again for your positive spirit. I will definitely post updates.
Kimberly
-
- July 1, 2013 at 3:26 pm
Hi Hazel,
Thank you for your message. I did just see that study news (I search Google News every day for the latest news on melanoma) and am always so encouraged by the latest breaking news regarding melanoma research. My greatest wish is that a cure comes quickly for all of us affected by this insidious disease. Thanks again for your positive spirit. I will definitely post updates.
Kimberly
-
- July 2, 2013 at 7:31 pm
Hi Judy,Thank you so much for your message. I got it just as we arrived for his first infusion. And it was just a great positive story to hear. So thank you for sharing. So happy to hear that ipi is working for your husband. As I’m waiting for my husband’s infusion to start I’m hoping and praying it does for us too. Thanks again.
Kimberly
-
- July 2, 2013 at 7:31 pm
Hi Judy,Thank you so much for your message. I got it just as we arrived for his first infusion. And it was just a great positive story to hear. So thank you for sharing. So happy to hear that ipi is working for your husband. As I’m waiting for my husband’s infusion to start I’m hoping and praying it does for us too. Thanks again.
Kimberly
-
- July 2, 2013 at 7:31 pm
Hi Judy,Thank you so much for your message. I got it just as we arrived for his first infusion. And it was just a great positive story to hear. So thank you for sharing. So happy to hear that ipi is working for your husband. As I’m waiting for my husband’s infusion to start I’m hoping and praying it does for us too. Thanks again.
Kimberly
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.