"Let's go to (Inter)leukinbach, Texas..."

OK...why don't we get right to it. Freshen up your coffee; this might take a while.

1. Tests show no obvious evidence of any melanoma spread outside of my lungs. This is based on bloodwork, chest xrays, & various CT scans from Thursday. (note: the radiologist had not read the scans yet, but Dr. Homsi had, and was fairly confident of no spread). Within the context of "metastatic melanoma"--a very bad context to be within--"no spread" is good news. I'll take it.
(truly exciting news ends...much less exciting news continues...)

2. Treatment from here will be immunotheraphy, which means (for me) IL-2 in massive doses. Twice.
(I use the IL-2 abbreviation to avoid trying to spell interleukin...or interlachen--wait, that's the town in Switzerland...or interlocking--no, that's an adjective of some sort...or Lukenbach--no, that's the town Waylon sang about...let's stay with IL-2, shall we? *smile*)
I'll have 2 cycles of this, um, fun, with 3 weeks in between.
Note: I read up a bit on IL-2 & what it is & how it works, but lost consciousness quickly in all the biochemistry & pathophysiology & such; apparently, I was absent the day they taught science in my school system...

3. I'll be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at MDA as a matter of routine IL-2 procedure prior to beginning my treatment! (um...yikes?)
14 doses (if I can take all 14), one every 8 hours, via IV port. The ICU part is so they can monitor the side effects, not so much because of imminent danger. The side effects (below) can be so intense that some do not get to take all 14 doses. (now there's a yippie-ki-yay moment...)

4. The side effects are quite intense, though they typically end almost immediately after treatment stops. (he said optimistically...)
--nausea & vomiting & diarrhea
--general fatigue - one survivor says during treatment he was as tired as he's ever been in his life. Yet...
--inability to sleep - exhaustion + can't sleep = zero fun, sir!
--flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, muscle aches)
--weight gain due to water retention (there's some great news...*sigh*)
--low blood pressure (MDA & my disease have raised my BP this year...seems only fair for some aspect of it all to turn around & lower my BP...*another sigh*)
--accelerated pulse rate (thus the cardio function test below)
--diminished kidney function
--diminished liver function
--slight decrease in general hot-ness of the male patient (though, naturally, a slight decrease in my hotness might make it easier on the other younger guys around...*grin*)
--increased love of disco & rap music
(OK, those last two are not in the official list of symptoms; but all of the others are...*yet another sigh*)

On the not-entirely-negative side, the side effects tend to cease & to reverse themselves very quickly after treatment is stopped. So, a week of hell-in-an-IV-bag, followed by rapid improvement. As my brother said, it sounds a lot like hitting yourself on the head with a hammer; feels great when you stop! *rimshot* ("Jim Madaris, ladies & gents...he'll be here all week...don't forget to tip your waitress..." *huge grin*)

To qualify for this, medically speaking, one has to pass a lung function test (done that already, prior to lung surgery!), and a cardio function test. (coming this week, hopefully)
(pause & ponder having to pass a heart function and a lung function test in order to be able to take treatments for one's illness...yeah...*sigh again*)

Here's the plan, assuming I pass the cardio function test.

Sunday afternoon, July 6 - head back out to Houston yet again.
Monday, July 7 - head to MDA for bloodwork & an appt. w/ Dr. Homsi, then get checked into hospital's intensive care unit & have IV installed, & then begin treatment.
Then, 14 big hits of IL-2.
After the roughly 5 days of treatment, I'll have 2 more days in the hospital to completely recover, and then I'm outta there, heading back east toward the next you-gotta-be-kidding-me traffic jam courtesy of the Texas Highway Dept (yesterday's was in Beaumont; only an hour & a half this time...{memo to TX Highway Dept: of all of the bad times to close down interstates for construction, Friday afternoon would be the worst time; go crazy next week & try any other time--almost guaranteed to get you fewer complaints. You're welcome. Love, Mike}). So, I'm hoping to be back here in H'burg 7-8 days after leaving.

Word is, I'll feel fairly normal when I leave the hospital.

Then, 3 weeks of...not having IL-2. *faint applause, as at a golf match*

Followed by another sequence of IL-2 (again, 5 days of treatment followed by 2 days of recovery)

Then...*drum roll*...another round of scans to see what the result(s) are.

The strong hope/prayer is that they show zero cancer. This would be absolutely awesome!! Indeed, the possibility of such is precisely why I'm having the IL-2 treatment.

(If there are no good results, then chemo remains on the table...I'm something less than stoked about that possibility...)

Let me say this again: I do NOT think that the time of my departure is at hand just yet, though that time is in the hands of my Lord, as it is for all of us. Metastatic melanoma just creates massive amounts of suction, but mine coming back did not catch God by surprise. He's not scared, nor has He left me, nor will He leave me, nor is He unaware of the side effects of this treatment protocol. He is not wringing His hands wondering how this will all turn out. He's not hopeful, for He knows the end from the beginning; thus where hope is vital for us, it's totally not necessary for Him. Paradoxically, I take great hope in this.

So, how to pray now?
--for serious productivity and serious rest this week for all of us
--for a successful cardio function test (and the scheduling thereof)
--for all the logistics to work out in terms of travel schedules, work schedules, who's going with me, etc.
--**for my illness to be one of those that totally responds to IL-2**; there are a small number of cases of metastatic melanoma in which IL-2 seems to eradicate the illness such the folks remain cancer free for years.
--for my Lord to draw me near to Him through this next unpleasant phase of this unpleasant bend in the road
--for Him to enable me to tolerate the treatments, and to take all 14, with side effects as minimal as He sees fit, with me holding up under whatever effects He allows
--for Lisa, James & Anne, who have to walk this uncertain journey with me - my prayer is that their faith would be strengthened by all this (note: I blessedly have total confidence in them; however, this bend can be quite the faith challenge!)

Thanks so very much for the calls, texts, emails, comments, acts of service, and prayers on our behalf. One of the great blessings of a bend in the road is experiencing first hand the body of Christ being the body of Christ. Thanks for your part in that!

With love and hope even in the midst of sighs,
Mike

p.s. - please pray for my church buddy William Fortenberry today. He suffered a heart attack yesterday afternoon; apparently he'll be OK, but William is (a) younger than I, (b) more active than I, and (c) younger than I (that part bears repeating). He is a great guy, and one of my great friends & prayer warriors through this journey. Married to Stacy, 3 daughters. As I told the friend who called to tell me of William's situation, "were our collective prayer lives so pathetic that it took all of this medical stuff to drive us to our knees"? *smile* Thanks for lifting William & his family up today!

p.p.s. - perhaps the Lord will return before 7/7, which would mean no IL-2 treatment for me...