Interferon……

I had interferon 12 years ago.  It was an absolute nightmare.  I was only able to do it for a couple of weeks.  Well, I have a recurrence right now.  I'll never know if the interferon kept the melanoma away for 12 years or if I had compelted the year would that mean I would have remained cancer free.  I'm probably not much help other then I understand exactly what you are going through.  

I had interferon 12 years ago.  It was an absolute nightmare.  I was only able to do it for a couple of weeks.  Well, I have a recurrence right now.  I'll never know if the interferon kept the melanoma away for 12 years or if I had compelted the year would that mean I would have remained cancer free.  I'm probably not much help other then I understand exactly what you are going through.  

I had interferon 12 years ago.  It was an absolute nightmare.  I was only able to do it for a couple of weeks.  Well, I have a recurrence right now.  I'll never know if the interferon kept the melanoma away for 12 years or if I had compelted the year would that mean I would have remained cancer free.  I'm probably not much help other then I understand exactly what you are going through.  

Lydia,

I know a lot of people who have done interferon and have had no further problems with melanoma.  I know an equal amount of people who have done interferon and went forward to have a recurrence.

I have not met one person who held regret for doing interferon…….regardless of outcome.

Here is the deal with melanoma ( more particular, advanced melanoma)……..not ONE treatment protocol or approach has a uniform response rate among patients.  At best, there is not ONE treatment that has a response rate (and I am being very generous here) of better than 20%.

What that means is two in ten people will respond to any one of a rainbow of treatment options  and eight will not.

I am not saying this to be a naysayer for treatments.  What I am saying is that melanoma is still not completely understood and therefor treatment approaches are not either.

What all this boils down to is your personal choice and how you make that choice.

Though it may seem bizarre,, I would suggest you go to a room all by yourself that has a mirror, look into that mirror into your own eyes and have a vocal conversation with yourself. .  Discuss your fear of treatment, discuss your fear of melanoma, discuss your known science of treatments , resolve your emotions with your intelligence and decide a way forward that you can live with.

I took my Patnet down here due to unaddressed privacy and security concerns, however I have been hanging around this site since 1999 and I can honestly say this:  The absolute best treatment is the one you can live with for two reasons:

Your Chance.  Your Choice

Hope this helps.

Cheers, 

Charlie S

Lydia,

I know a lot of people who have done interferon and have had no further problems with melanoma.  I know an equal amount of people who have done interferon and went forward to have a recurrence.

I have not met one person who held regret for doing interferon…….regardless of outcome.

Here is the deal with melanoma ( more particular, advanced melanoma)……..not ONE treatment protocol or approach has a uniform response rate among patients.  At best, there is not ONE treatment that has a response rate (and I am being very generous here) of better than 20%.

What that means is two in ten people will respond to any one of a rainbow of treatment options  and eight will not.

I am not saying this to be a naysayer for treatments.  What I am saying is that melanoma is still not completely understood and therefor treatment approaches are not either.

What all this boils down to is your personal choice and how you make that choice.

Though it may seem bizarre,, I would suggest you go to a room all by yourself that has a mirror, look into that mirror into your own eyes and have a vocal conversation with yourself. .  Discuss your fear of treatment, discuss your fear of melanoma, discuss your known science of treatments , resolve your emotions with your intelligence and decide a way forward that you can live with.

I took my Patnet down here due to unaddressed privacy and security concerns, however I have been hanging around this site since 1999 and I can honestly say this:  The absolute best treatment is the one you can live with for two reasons:

Your Chance.  Your Choice

Hope this helps.

Cheers, 

Charlie S

Lydia,

I know a lot of people who have done interferon and have had no further problems with melanoma.  I know an equal amount of people who have done interferon and went forward to have a recurrence.

I have not met one person who held regret for doing interferon…….regardless of outcome.

Here is the deal with melanoma ( more particular, advanced melanoma)……..not ONE treatment protocol or approach has a uniform response rate among patients.  At best, there is not ONE treatment that has a response rate (and I am being very generous here) of better than 20%.

What that means is two in ten people will respond to any one of a rainbow of treatment options  and eight will not.

I am not saying this to be a naysayer for treatments.  What I am saying is that melanoma is still not completely understood and therefor treatment approaches are not either.

What all this boils down to is your personal choice and how you make that choice.

Though it may seem bizarre,, I would suggest you go to a room all by yourself that has a mirror, look into that mirror into your own eyes and have a vocal conversation with yourself. .  Discuss your fear of treatment, discuss your fear of melanoma, discuss your known science of treatments , resolve your emotions with your intelligence and decide a way forward that you can live with.

I took my Patnet down here due to unaddressed privacy and security concerns, however I have been hanging around this site since 1999 and I can honestly say this:  The absolute best treatment is the one you can live with for two reasons:

Your Chance.  Your Choice

Hope this helps.

Cheers, 

Charlie S