My melanoma was found in my lymph node. My CT scan is clear and I haven offered immunotherapy or targeted treatment. I am having great difficulty deciding which to choose.
Hi Munshkin, I was diagnosed with stage 3C melanoma last year, I had a lump, not a mole, which had a Breslow thickness of 4.7mm, ulcerated and had spread to my sentinel lymph node.
I also was given the choice of immunotherapy or targeted therapy. I chose the targeted as if problems occurred such as diabetes, they can be reversed after treatment finishes, with immunotherapy, if you develop for example diabetes, you tend to have it for life.
Moderator, please correct me if I'm wrong.
Luckily I've only had nausea and some diarrhoea.
I am on the medication, Dabrafenib and Trametininb, for a year, scans so far have been clear. I will live with the fear of it returning but hope and pray the targeted therapy has done the job of switching off those mutated cells.
Good luck with your treatment, whatever you choose will be right for you.
I decided to go with the targeted therapy. I started last Saturday and it hit me like a sledge hammer. Monday, I had the chills with my teeth chattering and then a temperature of 38.7. The doctor asked to see me in the evening and run blood tests to rule out infection. I was advised to stop for a couple of days and restart.
I have quite a small frame and wondered if they should moderate the dose to take that into account.
They are unable to say how long the side affects last, so wondered if anyone had any advice on this.
I decided to go with the targeted therapy. I started last Saturday and it hit me like a sledge hammer. Monday, I had the chills with my teeth chattering and then a temperature of 38.7. The doctor asked to see me in the evening and run blood tests to rule out infection. I was advised to stop for a couple of days and restart.
I have quite a small frame and wondered if they should moderate the dose to take that into account.
They are unable to say how long the side affects last, so wondered if anyone had any advice on this.
Sorry to hear this, it's quite a common side effect but I hope you recover quickly and can restart problem free. I know they can reduce the doses if you continue with this problem. Do you have a skin cancer nurse you can speak to? Mine have been brilliant with any questions I have. Or the Melanoma Focus helpline? I have ongoing nausea and occasional diarrhoea, small price to pay to hopefully prevent the cancer coming back. I'm on month 7 now and coping OK.
At least if it does happen again you will know what to do. I hope your team can guide you through it. Don't feel like you are alone though, there will be so many melanoma patients who will have had this treatment and let you know how theirs went. I remember feeling so overwhelmed when I started the treatment but that soon passes and it becomes second nature.
