DECISION TO STOP CHEMO

Dave's seizure on April 6th was very scary, and a turning point in his treatment plan. Although there was absolutely no evidence of cause for (or, thankfully of any damage from) the seizure, we can't help but attribute it to either his drugs or maybe even the fact that his body is just plain worn down.  The x-ray, CT scan, EKG, EEG, MRI, MRA, ultrasound, and echo-cardiogram he had two weekends ago could not identify any problem, and a stroke was ruled out.  His oncologist, Dr. S. told him to stop injecting his Intron for at least a week, and to make an appointment at his office.

That office visit was yesterday, April 17, and I was out of town.  I didn't get to hear the discussion, but the bottom line is Dave decided to forego any further treatment, while he has no evidence of melanoma in his body.  

Dave had contacted his MD Anderson oncologist, via email, and had a phone conversation with the nurse practitioner.    They had no objection to Dave stopping the treatment, although they made it clear that they were not convinced that his drugs were the cause.

Dave was on a year-long treatment plan, as you may remember.  The first month (last October) he had four weeks of daily (Mon.-Fri.) intravenous treatments.  In November he started a three-times-a-week injection of Intron.  By April 6th, he had had 6 months of the 12-month protocol.  Unfortunately, there are no studies that show the effectiveness of a 4-, 6-, or 8-month treatment as compared to the 12-month standard.  Dr. S. said early on that over 50% of patients cannot even finish the first month, and that completing the first month seems to have to most benefit.  

Dr. S. advised Dave to continue; his reasoning based primarily on the fact that an Intron-related seizure is such a tiny risk.  And we don't know that it was related to the drugs at all. However, the person that experienced the seizure, Dave, didn't like even the tiniest of risk of it happening again.  Dr. S. was in agreement with Dave's decision.  It wasn't his preferred option, but he certainly understood Dave's position and had no issue with Dave's decision. Backing up a little, I should say Dave went into the discussion fairly certain he wanted to stop, but was open to a compelling argument to continue.  The studies just are not available to compare 6 months of treatment to the benefits of 12 months.  We will see.

In the two weeks Dave has been off his drugs, his color is better and he's gained a few pounds.  Compared to a month ago, his white blood cell count and GRA has improved (though they are both still low), and his platelets are back in the normal range.  Such an improvement already!

Dave will be getting checkups with Dr. S. and at MD Anderson every 3 months for a while, alternating between offices.  I appreciate everyone keeping up with this blog, but since the postings now may be few and far between, I will also post a note on Facebook when I am updating.  

Melanoma has been a nightmare, but having such great support from our family, friends and medical professionals has really made us grateful.  More than I can express, more than you know.