@colleenyoung
Hey Colleen, It was good I start immunotherapy this Friday. really early. Hopefully the appointments going foward are not quite so early I don't sl;eep weall and am NOT a morning person. After the lecture on the risk and side effects of the immunotherapy I am a bit apprehensive, especially the second one as it will be the day after I have cochlear surgery (also in Jax but at Baptist). My wife is going to the first 2 but after that we are hopefull I can manage the drive down (2.5 hrs) and back. Things are tight anway and to add her missing work, boarding the dogs and other cost I need to be able to do this.
I am A 70 year-old female, who just had a left nephrectomy in March .Histology G4 negative margins for invasion. I did have a pet scan prior to removal of the kid kidney, which was negative. First visit with oncologist, suggesting immunotherapy. My concern is the side effects. I live with my daughter who has intractable seizures, and a husband who is severely depressed. I am concerned about the side effects and how debilitating they could be. Any thought's , I’m back-and-forth. My window ends in 2 1/2 weeks.
I am A 70 year-old female, who just had a left nephrectomy in March .Histology G4 negative margins for invasion. I did have a pet scan prior to removal of the kid kidney, which was negative. First visit with oncologist, suggesting immunotherapy. My concern is the side effects. I live with my daughter who has intractable seizures, and a husband who is severely depressed. I am concerned about the side effects and how debilitating they could be. Any thought's , I’m back-and-forth. My window ends in 2 1/2 weeks.
@reef67 not sure what you mean about the window.
I started on keytruda November 7 and had debilitating severe side effects. Went in prednisone tapers and that helped greatly. They didn’t have me continue with Keytruda and changed to Opdivo and Cometrx with very little side effects. Suspiciously it may be that because I’ve been in 5 mg prednisone and 400 mg hydroxychloroquine daily that it greatly lessened the side effects. I am not a Dr. If there is no evidence of the cancer metastasizing via scans, maybe you should wait. I don’t know if immunotherapy is used as a preventative or only if there is evidence of metastasizing. If you start immunotherapy maybe it’s best to start prednisone and/or hydroxychloroquine before.
Everybody responds differently and your Drs know best.
Hope my experience helps
Thank you , grade 4 is Histologic describes " cancer cells that look extremely abnormal under a microscope and do not resemble normal cells. They are fast growing .I guess the stage is pT3a.Im also not a doctor but from what I read not the greatest test results. I guess what holds me back is the oncologist stated side effects can happen at any time even after the treatment is terminated. I’m so happy for you that the Opivdo worked with less side effects. My daughter can have up to 20 seizures a day .Im worried I would not be able to take care of her. Thank you for responding wishing you all the best.
I am A 70 year-old female, who just had a left nephrectomy in March .Histology G4 negative margins for invasion. I did have a pet scan prior to removal of the kid kidney, which was negative. First visit with oncologist, suggesting immunotherapy. My concern is the side effects. I live with my daughter who has intractable seizures, and a husband who is severely depressed. I am concerned about the side effects and how debilitating they could be. Any thought's , I’m back-and-forth. My window ends in 2 1/2 weeks.
@reef67 my 54 year old son was blessed to have no untoward reactions except a slight itchiness in the beginning and maybe fatigue for the evening after the treatments. I have seen other posts with not so great reactions from others. I suspect it is very individualized. My son is glad he went forward with it. I hope you make your"thoughtful decision and do as well as he did!
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@colleenyoung
Hey Colleen, It was good I start immunotherapy this Friday. really early. Hopefully the appointments going foward are not quite so early I don't sl;eep weall and am NOT a morning person. After the lecture on the risk and side effects of the immunotherapy I am a bit apprehensive, especially the second one as it will be the day after I have cochlear surgery (also in Jax but at Baptist). My wife is going to the first 2 but after that we are hopefull I can manage the drive down (2.5 hrs) and back. Things are tight anway and to add her missing work, boarding the dogs and other cost I need to be able to do this.
I am A 70 year-old female, who just had a left nephrectomy in March .Histology G4 negative margins for invasion. I did have a pet scan prior to removal of the kid kidney, which was negative. First visit with oncologist, suggesting immunotherapy. My concern is the side effects. I live with my daughter who has intractable seizures, and a husband who is severely depressed. I am concerned about the side effects and how debilitating they could be. Any thought's , I’m back-and-forth. My window ends in 2 1/2 weeks.
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1 Reaction@reef67 not sure what you mean about the window.
I started on keytruda November 7 and had debilitating severe side effects. Went in prednisone tapers and that helped greatly. They didn’t have me continue with Keytruda and changed to Opdivo and Cometrx with very little side effects. Suspiciously it may be that because I’ve been in 5 mg prednisone and 400 mg hydroxychloroquine daily that it greatly lessened the side effects. I am not a Dr. If there is no evidence of the cancer metastasizing via scans, maybe you should wait. I don’t know if immunotherapy is used as a preventative or only if there is evidence of metastasizing. If you start immunotherapy maybe it’s best to start prednisone and/or hydroxychloroquine before.
Everybody responds differently and your Drs know best.
Hope my experience helps
Thank you , grade 4 is Histologic describes " cancer cells that look extremely abnormal under a microscope and do not resemble normal cells. They are fast growing .I guess the stage is pT3a.Im also not a doctor but from what I read not the greatest test results. I guess what holds me back is the oncologist stated side effects can happen at any time even after the treatment is terminated. I’m so happy for you that the Opivdo worked with less side effects. My daughter can have up to 20 seizures a day .Im worried I would not be able to take care of her. Thank you for responding wishing you all the best.
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2 ReactionsSorry I just reread your comments the window according to the oncologist is 3 months after surgery to start treatment.
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1 Reaction@reef67 thank you for clarifying. Let me know what you decide.
@reef67 my 54 year old son was blessed to have no untoward reactions except a slight itchiness in the beginning and maybe fatigue for the evening after the treatments. I have seen other posts with not so great reactions from others. I suspect it is very individualized. My son is glad he went forward with it. I hope you make your"thoughtful decision and do as well as he did!