[byteCoder]

I’m now 5.5 years post-treatment with immunotherapy for Stage IV melanoma and have had no evidence of disease for over four years. When immunotherapy works, it can be impressive.

For me, my treatment (adoptive cell therapy using tumor infiltrating lymphocytes) used my own white blood cells (130 billion in lab-selected and expanded form) to overwhelm the mutated cancer cells.

It was a one-time treatment (over 3-4 weeks in the hospital) with no further meds or other treatments required.

Immunotherapy has become an important tool in the future of fighting cancer, for sure.

[SteveNuts]

What was the treatment like? I've heard it's similar to having the worst flu of your life * 1000.

[wbl]

He has a life. Melanoma is insanely deadly and painful.

[byteCoder]

Yes, the treatment was obviously totally worth it. And, I'm extremely grateful for being in the lucky 30% of patients who response completely to it.

[byteCoder]

Yes, for the two days of high dose IL-2 every 8 hours, it was pretty bad. My experience was limited to nausea, fever, sweating, and bed-shaking rigors. I've heard that some patients experience hallucinations.

Note: IL-2 was administered after I received my lab-grown white blood cells. It acts as signal to one's immune system to activate. It was used to jumpstart my immune system after it had been replaced.

[bengarrr]

I wonder how a combination of aggressive immunotherapy and "sickness" counteracting effects of cannabis (for the nausea, fever, sweating) would do in making the immunothrerapy more effective and tolerable.

[byteCoder]

Since the treatment was performed on site at the National Institutes of Health using Federal research dollars, this wouldn't have been an option. So, I have no idea.

[homero]

Was there an option to be sedated? I wouldn't handle fever and shaking that bad, I'd panic.

Also I don't think I'd be eligible, I have ulcerative colitis which is autoimmune.

[eecc]

That’s great news both for you and for all of us.

I hope all patients that would benefit from this treatment will have access to it, to save their lives and to validate and improve the therapy for all those to come

[byteCoder]

Yes, harnessing the patient's immune system to fight their cancer is a very promising technology and is saving the lives of many patients, even more as the processes and meds get further refined.