My husband started his regime a week ago today; Tafinlar and Mekinist. Other than feeling a bit hung over and loose bowels, he's tolerating it well. He dozes in his chair much more frequently so is getting some rest. The plan is to take the harsher drugs first and save the immuniotherapies for later when he's not as strong as he is now.
He's grouchy; I understand and try to cut him some slack but it wears on me.
HSsweetheart,
Hopefully he will get some tumor brden relief through shrinkage quickly from the BRAF meds combo.
I've felt kinda prickly andeasily agitated and tearful myself lately so I have empathy for both of you in that regard. My husband reminded me last night that melanoma is our common source of exhaustion, not each other.
Caregiver fatigue is just as real an experience as cancer fatigue. Sometimes I forget how it ALL sneaks up and takes daily compound interest as a toll.
Maybe do some dosing yourself, too. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
Peace,
Missy
Thanks Missy. Interestingly, he has no tumor to watch. The one he had was removed through a lobectomy so the therapy intent is to prevent new tumor growth.
HSsweetheart. We are HS Sweethearts as well. Is your husband on steroids? That was the only thing that seemed to stop his diarrhea. Imodium, or BRAT diet did not work at all for him. I understand the grouchy feeling. My husband has his moments for sure, that is when we both take a little time and space and watch TV in different rooms. It is a different normal for us all now, allow yourself to feel a little grouchy too, you are allowed. That is absolutely wonderful news that he has no tumor growth, and is on a preventative treatment. You are So blessed. Can I ask was his cancer found early? My husband had a melanoma removed 6 yrs ago on his shoulder and a re-excision to get wider margins, at the time there was no lymph node or sentinel node involvement. Because of that diagnosis he was not referred to an oncologist. At Five years they thought he was in the clear, but still having body checks every three months since that time, and yet somehow he ended up with it all over his body. I wish we had been seeing an oncologist and maybe they could have put him in at that time maybe a Clinical trial. We are blessed he is here now with me, and don’t take a single day for granted.
Michele
They diagnosed melanoma after removing a golf ball size tumor from his lung. automatically stage 4 since it had metastasized. Some lymph nodes removed too. Never found the site of origin so may have been a mole that has disappeared.
Has he had a PET scan yet? Was there anymore tumors? Anymore spread? I begged the doctors to remove the tumor off my boyfriends lung but for some reason that just wasn’t an option.. He was super grouchy, almost mean and really insensitive.. come to find out it was his way of coming to terms with what was happening. He had to process that he didn’t have control over what his body was doing. But he came out of it in a few weeks. It’s totally normal. I thought I was going to loose my marbles with his attitudes. It’s important that you take care of yourself, and talk to others. Whether it’s here, or a friend, family.. anyone. 
Thanks Kelly. Yes, he's had numerous scans and he's tumor free at the moment. We're fortunate to have excellent health insurance through my employer which is also a hospital so he can do extra diagnostic tests without additional cost to us.
The lobectomy was a major surgery to remove the tumor : five days in hospital to recuperate. Your boyfriend's tumor may not have been operable due to location but your doctor can explain that. It's ok to ask for clarification after the fact. Knowledge builds our vocabulary and comprehension for the next step.
Brother with stage 3 melanoma 
New member — husband stage IV melanoma