Trial Update….Watching the clock

Hello everyone! Below is an update for those interested in some of the details of my melanoma trial.

After a long wait and much preparation, tomorrow Arianna and I will be heading up to the Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital in Manhattan (1275 York Avenue). I’ll be admitted to the hospital on the 19th, and will be in the hospital for at least three weeks, and then in a nearby apartment for an additional 15 days or so.

As you may remember from the last post, this treatment is very involved. I traveled to NY for several screening appointments, had surgery in December, and then waited patiently for the treatment to be prepared from the resected tumors. Starting on the 20th, I’ll receive low dose chemotherapy for 7 days. They assured me that side effects from this should be limited to fatigue. On the 8th day I’ll get the “treatment” of billions of TIL cells (called “Lifileucel”). I’ve been told that most people do not have any specific reaction from the cells alone. For the next three days I”ll receive IL-2 twice daily. IL-2 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine which will push my immune system into overdrive in an attempt to “activate” the TILs. I am likely to have flu-like side effects from this, and I’ll be monitored closely. A dose may be skipped if my reaction is severe. Once I complete the IL-2 I’ll recover in the hospital for the next 10 days. From (approximately) February 11-27th I’ll remain nearby in an MSK apartment to continue to be monitored closely, after which I’ll return home to DC. Two weeks after this I’ll return to NY for my first post-treatment evaluation, where we will hopefully see positive results!

Arianna will be with me in New York until I am recovered from the IL-2, when she will come back to DC to be with the kids (hopefully the front end of the first week of February). We are lucky to have grandparents to care for, and help care for, the kids while I am gone. Thanks to DC friends for offers to help with our handfuls while we are gone.

For those interested in visiting (welcome but not requested!!), the best time to come will be when I am out of the hospital, as my hospital floor will have a lot of immunocompromised patients. As mentioned above, this will be approximately February 11-27th, and I’ll be on the East Side, somewhere around 75th. Arianna or I will continue to write updates as we go along.

Thank you all for your support. We love you!!

Jeff