melanoma and leukine

musithang said:

I have stage 3a melanoma. Diagnosed in October, 2005. Located on my chest and spread to the lymphnodes in my armpit. Had a positive sentinel node (3) and removed 13 from my armpit (all negative).
I was put on alpha inteferon with disastarous side effects, etc. I have been doing the leukine treatments since July 2006 (14 days on, 14 dyas off) with the same results that your son is experiencing (swelling, getting worse each treatment, etc).
I was given this protocal by the Sylvester Cancer Center at the University of Miami.
I am 42 years old.

I was diagnosed with Metastatic Melanoma in 2005. I never knew where my primary melanoma was, but after treating a swollen lymph gland for infection for several months, a biopsy was performed resulting in the melanoma diagnosis. I had a pet scan which showed the cancer was localized in the right neck. Within a couple of days, I had modified radical neck surgery. 33 lymph glands were removed and 4 of them were positive for melanoma. Back then, the oncologist, suggested the most common treatment for melanoma was interferon, however the chance for good results were low, and the treatment made one very sick and mostly bedfast for a year or so. I refused that treatment. In the process of physicians deciding how to treat my situatiion, my wife just happened to run int a lady whose husband had been involved in a clinical trial using leukine to treat melanoma, and he had survived 5 years and was still alive. We relayed this information to the oncologist and he started working toward getting me involved in that clinical trial, but while he was doing that, the FDA approved Leukine for treatment for melanoma.

Before I started the Leukine treatment, I had and was limited to 5 very high dose radiation treatments to my neck area (I think the radiation technique came out of a medical facility in Texas. Melanoma does not respond to regular or low dose radiation teatment).

Then I had leukine shots 14 days on and 14 days off for 24 months. Each 14 days I was taking the shots, I would get to feeling kind of rough, but I would change the administration sites around, and I never did get any injection site irratation or soreness. I have a lot for which to be thankful - it has been over 7 years since I was diagnosed. I wish you well

Class57 said:

Melanoma & Leukine treatment

I was diagnosed with Metastatic Melanoma in 2005. I never knew where my primary melanoma was, but after treating a swollen lymph gland for infection for several months, a biopsy was performed resulting in the melanoma diagnosis. I had a pet scan which showed the cancer was localized in the right neck. Within a couple of days, I had modified radical neck surgery. 33 lymph glands were removed and 4 of them were positive for melanoma. Back then, the oncologist, suggested the most common treatment for melanoma was interferon, however the chance for good results were low, and the treatment made one very sick and mostly bedfast for a year or so. I refused that treatment. In the process of physicians deciding how to treat my situatiion, my wife just happened to run int a lady whose husband had been involved in a clinical trial using leukine to treat melanoma, and he had survived 5 years and was still alive. We relayed this information to the oncologist and he started working toward getting me involved in that clinical trial, but while he was doing that, the FDA approved Leukine for treatment for melanoma.

Before I started the Leukine treatment, I had and was limited to 5 very high dose radiation treatments to my neck area (I think the radiation technique came out of a medical facility in Texas. Melanoma does not respond to regular or low dose radiation teatment).

Then I had leukine shots 14 days on and 14 days off for 24 months. Each 14 days I was taking the shots, I would get to feeling kind of rough, but I would change the administration sites around, and I never did get any injection site irratation or soreness. I have a lot for which to be thankful - it has been over 7 years since I was diagnosed. I wish you well

 

Class of 1957:  Thanks for sharing your history.  Your words are an encouragement to me.  I was diagnosed with stage 2a melanoma in Dec 2011.  I had a regional recurrent metastatic melanoma surgically removed in Feb 2013.  I went to Mayo in MN for a second opinion for treatment.  I have chosen to follow their recommendation to give myself the Leukine injections for 14 days, stop for 14 days and repeat this 28 day cycle for three years.  I am working with my local oncologist and can return to Mayo if needed.  I have just started the injections having received only two.  What side effects did you have?   I am having sternum bone chest pain for a few hours that is very uncomfortable.  I will talk to the doctor when I see him next week.  I am wondering how the next three years will go, but it is good to read you are apparently doing good after 7 years.

ddm1968 said:

Melanoma and Leukine

I am so happy to have found this site.  What kind of melanoma are all of you dealing with?  I was diagnosed with stage 4 choroidal melanoma in my right eye about 2 1/2 years ago.  I had plaque radiation and later eneucleation of my eye about a year ago.  I just learned that the melanoma has metastasized to my liver.  I am being treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and following 3 treatments with Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy I will be taking injections of Leukine (14 days on, 14 days off).  I would love your advice and friendship as I start this new chapter in my fight against this disease. 

I hate to point people to external resources, but ocular melanoma is different from cutaneous melanoma in several important ways, and there are some groups devoted to it. There's an Ocular Melanoma Foundation that has a forum, and also a very active mailing list with an online archive called OCU-MEL. I assume they can be readily found in Google.

Sorry but I have no knowdge of stereotactic body radiation therapy or of leukine, but I do know there are other liver therapies that can be very successful. For example Isolated Hepatic Perfusion/IHP, Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion/PHP, chemo-embolization, and SIR-spheres. It's very important to target the liver directly and aggressively if the cancer hasn't metastasized anywhere else.

joelcairo said:

Choroidal melanoma

I hate to point people to external resources, but ocular melanoma is different from cutaneous melanoma in several important ways, and there are some groups devoted to it. There's an Ocular Melanoma Foundation that has a forum, and also a very active mailing list with an online archive called OCU-MEL. I assume they can be readily found in Google.

Sorry but I have no knowdge of stereotactic body radiation therapy or of leukine, but I do know there are other liver therapies that can be very successful. For example Isolated Hepatic Perfusion/IHP, Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion/PHP, chemo-embolization, and SIR-spheres. It's very important to target the liver directly and aggressively if the cancer hasn't metastasized anywhere else.

 

Thank you Joel.  I found ocu-mel on the internet. It is a good site.  The sterieotactic radiation, which was beams of radiation aimed directly at the tumor in my liver, was done at the Mayo and is said to have good results.  The Leukine is to build up my immune system.  My oncologist deals with both kinds of melanoma, but I am torn.  The information I am reading about Dr. Sato seems to be encouraging.  Do you have experience with ocular cancer?