Friday, July 17th
Just got home from my first cycle of Interleukin 2 and I’m recovering well. Here’s how the treatment went.
Day 1
They put a port inside my arm so I don’t have to receive multiple injections daily. They have to take 12 tubes of blood each morning and the interleukin can destroy veins. So, I have a line that enters through my bicep and goes all the way to my heart for immediate entrance into the bloodstream. I have to keep it in for 2 months but it really doesn’t bother me. It just has to be flushed everyday and I can hide it under t-shirts. Can’t really get it wet though.
Day 2
My first interleukin injection was at 7am. It’s so toxic that the nurses wore thick gloves to handle it and whomever touched it had to sign off on a sheet. It wasn’t in a bag like my other meds, it was a huge bottle that they hung for 15 minutes. I was sort of relieved when I started it because the anticipation was killing me!
After a few hours I started to feel like I had a sever flu. I ended up sleeping most of the day. They continued this every 12 hours.
Day 3
My second day on Interleukin was similar to the first as far as feeling bad. Flu symptoms, horrible fatigue, etc. I did start noticing water retention on day 2 and my appetite was completely gone. My skin started bothering me also, like a sunburn.
Day 4
Still not eating, 7 lbs. of water weight, and my skin was very red and dry. Still hanging in there and sleeping a lot. My charge nurse told me it would be great if I could sleep through the whole thing. I agreed!
At 3am on the 4th day, my nurses called into my room and told me to report to the second floor for some procedures. I got dressed and took my IV pole and headed outside.
I had officially made it to the hallucination part of the treatment. They stopped me at the door and instructed me back to bed. It seemed so real because I was awake watching television when it happened. I wasn’t asleep or dreaming.
I was happy this was the only hallucination thus far, because I had heard some horror stories about Interleukin 2 and hallucinations.
Day 5
The morning after my hallucinations was awful. Every side effect seemed to show up at the same time. My skin hurt more than ever and it was scabbing all over my body, I was vomiting like crazy, and my blood pressure dropped to 86/50. They made the decision to stop the treatment at that point. I was disappointed, thinking I had to finish a few more rounds for it to work against the cancer. I found out that everyone is different in their tolerance and whenever the side effects get severe, it’s done it’s job. Some men can’t even finish one full round.
Day 6
I have to stay in the hospital for 2 days to recover. I’m very uncomfortable but glad it’s over for now. Starting to eat again.
Overall
I’m home now and feeling much better. I’ve lost 21 lbs. but I’m doing okay. I go back for another cycle on July 25th. After my next cycle, I’ll have scans done to see if this is shrinking the tumors. If it is, I go back for 2 more cycles of Interleukin 2 and hopefully will destroy the rest of the cancer. After that, I can start getting my life back.
If the Interleukin is not working, I go back in October for the big treatment. A month in the hospital, radiation, more surgery, etc. I’m hoping I won’t have to do this.
Please keep sending your prayers and positive energy my way and lets hope this Interleukin 2 is working! There’s only a 15% chance but I’m staying positive!
Thanks for everything!
