Starting Biotherapy

Hi everyone, this is Deb. I will be helping update the blog while Nate is receiving treatment over the next few weeks. We checked into Karmanos yesterday so Nate could start receiving High Dose IL2. I found a great online video that gives every detail as to what that is however it is 27 min long so I'll also give you the basics.

High dose Interluken-2 (IL2)
This is a biological therapy not chemotherapy. Biological therapy treatments use your immune system to fight cancer while chemotherapy attacks the cancer cells directly.
Nate has to be in the hospital to receive the treatment because he receives a dose over a fifteen minute period every eight hours through an IV. 7a.m.-3p.m.-11p.m. is his schedule. Also he has to be very closely monitored for side effects which are numerous. He is weighed every morning because the drug almost shuts down his kidneys and he retains water. He could gain up to 4 lbs a day! They say he will lose it all within a couple of days of getting home by taking water pills. He has his vitals taken every two hours which makes for long nights. His blood is also drawn and checked daily. Most common side effects are general flu like symptoms, fatigue, restlessness, flushing and possibly itchy skin, diarrhea, swollen arms and legs, light sensitivity, chills/shakes, and loss of appetite. We were told most patients will get 8-12 doses with the max being 15. Doses are skipped if side effects are too severe.

We checked into Karmanos yesterday afternoon and Nate received his first IL-2 dose at 3p.m. He did great! We were told that most people get really bad chills and shakes soon after the first dose but Nate never got them. He started to feel aches all over a couple hours later along with some restlessness around 10p.m. but was able sleep most of the night. Dr. Flarhety came in at 8 this morning and was impressed as to how well Nate was handling the doses. The only concern was his blood pressure has been low so they will keep a close eye on that. Nate even felt well enough to eat a small breakfast. So far he has had 3 doses and is (as our nurse says) making this look easy.

We have been impressed with Karmanos so far. We were lucky enough to get a private room which is very large and has a nice feel to it. The nurses are wonderful especially Tania who was the first to sit down and go over everything with us. The floor is set up like a rectangle. The are often times patients lapping the halls during their stay (16 laps = 1 mile). We are in room 5219.

Deb