Yervoy or interferon for adjuctive treatment

Sorry you are having to go through this, I am 29 and was diagnosed stage 3b in November 2015, it's not easy dealing with all this at such a young and healthy age.

I highly recommend watching this video:

It is incredibly informative about stage 3 and gives options as far as treatments go.

Most top melanoma oncologists still recommend watch and wait. But, now that Yervoy is FDA approved that is a great option on the table. You should try and find a melanoma specialst in your area (if you're not already seeing one), it is very important since melanoma is not like other cancers and having an oncologist that truely understands melanoma and is up to date on all research and treatments is important.

If you research about Interferon, you will notice that studies show very very little help for a patient who does Interferon adjuvant therapy. There is just no reason why anyone should put themselves through the crappy side effects of a drug that will do nothing to help you.

Yervoy is better in that it has shown more help than Interferon. It is not a huge amount percentage wise, but the treatment time is shorter and it's the newest FDA approved drug for our stage.. was just approved in October 2015. It does great things for a lot of people in stage 4. And now they are testing other great drugs that have helped a lot of stage 4 patients for stage 3 adjuvant therapy as well.

I have done the 4 main doses of Yervoy (10mg/kg) and I got through them with mild side effects. Mostly fatigue. And some other manageable ones as well, dry mouth/eyes, mildly itchy skin. Most common side effects are diarrhea and skin itching/rash. 

There are some clinical trials that just started for stage 3 as well, they were not available to me when I made my decision in December, otherwise I would have highly considered doing a clinical trial. Not sure if you're in an area of a medical facility participating in trials, but that could be something to look into as well. All of these things are gone over in the video. It is a long video, but it is really good to get informed before you make any decisions. 

All decisions about our health are very personal and everyone will choose their option based on knowing themselves and their bodies the best. 

It is hard to say when side effects would start for any individual since drugs effect everyone differently. I had fatigue right away but didn't have many other side effects until after the second and third infusion (they are three weeks apart). Some people work full time through treatment, others might work part time, just depends on the individual. I went down to part time because I was able to with my job and I didn't want to wear myself out. I could have continued full time, but I personally wanted to give my body time to rest and get through this time without too much extra stress.

I hope this was helpful for you, I'm sure others will add some more good info for you too. This is a good place to be for knowledge and support.

All the best,

Sorry you are having to go through this, I am 29 and was diagnosed stage 3b in November 2015, it's not easy dealing with all this at such a young and healthy age.

I highly recommend watching this video:

It is incredibly informative about stage 3 and gives options as far as treatments go.

Most top melanoma oncologists still recommend watch and wait. But, now that Yervoy is FDA approved that is a great option on the table. You should try and find a melanoma specialst in your area (if you're not already seeing one), it is very important since melanoma is not like other cancers and having an oncologist that truely understands melanoma and is up to date on all research and treatments is important.

If you research about Interferon, you will notice that studies show very very little help for a patient who does Interferon adjuvant therapy. There is just no reason why anyone should put themselves through the crappy side effects of a drug that will do nothing to help you.

Yervoy is better in that it has shown more help than Interferon. It is not a huge amount percentage wise, but the treatment time is shorter and it's the newest FDA approved drug for our stage.. was just approved in October 2015. It does great things for a lot of people in stage 4. And now they are testing other great drugs that have helped a lot of stage 4 patients for stage 3 adjuvant therapy as well.

I have done the 4 main doses of Yervoy (10mg/kg) and I got through them with mild side effects. Mostly fatigue. And some other manageable ones as well, dry mouth/eyes, mildly itchy skin. Most common side effects are diarrhea and skin itching/rash. 

There are some clinical trials that just started for stage 3 as well, they were not available to me when I made my decision in December, otherwise I would have highly considered doing a clinical trial. Not sure if you're in an area of a medical facility participating in trials, but that could be something to look into as well. All of these things are gone over in the video. It is a long video, but it is really good to get informed before you make any decisions. 

All decisions about our health are very personal and everyone will choose their option based on knowing themselves and their bodies the best. 

It is hard to say when side effects would start for any individual since drugs effect everyone differently. I had fatigue right away but didn't have many other side effects until after the second and third infusion (they are three weeks apart). Some people work full time through treatment, others might work part time, just depends on the individual. I went down to part time because I was able to with my job and I didn't want to wear myself out. I could have continued full time, but I personally wanted to give my body time to rest and get through this time without too much extra stress.

I hope this was helpful for you, I'm sure others will add some more good info for you too. This is a good place to be for knowledge and support.

All the best,

Sorry you are having to go through this, I am 29 and was diagnosed stage 3b in November 2015, it's not easy dealing with all this at such a young and healthy age.

I highly recommend watching this video:

It is incredibly informative about stage 3 and gives options as far as treatments go.

Most top melanoma oncologists still recommend watch and wait. But, now that Yervoy is FDA approved that is a great option on the table. You should try and find a melanoma specialst in your area (if you're not already seeing one), it is very important since melanoma is not like other cancers and having an oncologist that truely understands melanoma and is up to date on all research and treatments is important.

If you research about Interferon, you will notice that studies show very very little help for a patient who does Interferon adjuvant therapy. There is just no reason why anyone should put themselves through the crappy side effects of a drug that will do nothing to help you.

Yervoy is better in that it has shown more help than Interferon. It is not a huge amount percentage wise, but the treatment time is shorter and it's the newest FDA approved drug for our stage.. was just approved in October 2015. It does great things for a lot of people in stage 4. And now they are testing other great drugs that have helped a lot of stage 4 patients for stage 3 adjuvant therapy as well.

I have done the 4 main doses of Yervoy (10mg/kg) and I got through them with mild side effects. Mostly fatigue. And some other manageable ones as well, dry mouth/eyes, mildly itchy skin. Most common side effects are diarrhea and skin itching/rash. 

There are some clinical trials that just started for stage 3 as well, they were not available to me when I made my decision in December, otherwise I would have highly considered doing a clinical trial. Not sure if you're in an area of a medical facility participating in trials, but that could be something to look into as well. All of these things are gone over in the video. It is a long video, but it is really good to get informed before you make any decisions. 

All decisions about our health are very personal and everyone will choose their option based on knowing themselves and their bodies the best. 

It is hard to say when side effects would start for any individual since drugs effect everyone differently. I had fatigue right away but didn't have many other side effects until after the second and third infusion (they are three weeks apart). Some people work full time through treatment, others might work part time, just depends on the individual. I went down to part time because I was able to with my job and I didn't want to wear myself out. I could have continued full time, but I personally wanted to give my body time to rest and get through this time without too much extra stress.

I hope this was helpful for you, I'm sure others will add some more good info for you too. This is a good place to be for knowledge and support.

All the best,

I am stage 3c and I have have Ipi (Yervoy) at the 3mg/kg dose. I am a responder.

I had an assortment of side effects. None of them were bad enough to keep me off work but I only work three days a week. I was never admitted to hospital and the actual therapy was very painless and easy.

Treatment 1 – nothing

Treatment 2 – small amount of diarrheoa and a suggestion of rash

Treatment 3 – rash, diarrhoea (controlled with Imodium) and weariness

Treatment 4 – rash, diarrhoea and damage to my pituitary gland (signaled by severe headaches, extreme tiredness and no appetite).

The side effects (rash and diarrhoea) reappeared two months after I had finished treatment and persisted for another six weeks.

If I was going back I would start taking a probiotic before the first treatment and keep taking it throughout.

I am stage 3c and I have have Ipi (Yervoy) at the 3mg/kg dose. I am a responder.

I had an assortment of side effects. None of them were bad enough to keep me off work but I only work three days a week. I was never admitted to hospital and the actual therapy was very painless and easy.

Treatment 1 – nothing

Treatment 2 – small amount of diarrheoa and a suggestion of rash

Treatment 3 – rash, diarrhoea (controlled with Imodium) and weariness

Treatment 4 – rash, diarrhoea and damage to my pituitary gland (signaled by severe headaches, extreme tiredness and no appetite).

The side effects (rash and diarrhoea) reappeared two months after I had finished treatment and persisted for another six weeks.

If I was going back I would start taking a probiotic before the first treatment and keep taking it throughout.

I am stage 3c and I have have Ipi (Yervoy) at the 3mg/kg dose. I am a responder.

I had an assortment of side effects. None of them were bad enough to keep me off work but I only work three days a week. I was never admitted to hospital and the actual therapy was very painless and easy.

Treatment 1 – nothing

Treatment 2 – small amount of diarrheoa and a suggestion of rash

Treatment 3 – rash, diarrhoea (controlled with Imodium) and weariness

Treatment 4 – rash, diarrhoea and damage to my pituitary gland (signaled by severe headaches, extreme tiredness and no appetite).

The side effects (rash and diarrhoea) reappeared two months after I had finished treatment and persisted for another six weeks.

If I was going back I would start taking a probiotic before the first treatment and keep taking it throughout.