Preparing for the Hospital Stay and What Patients Should Know

For many people, the hospital stay for tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy is their first extended time as an inpatient. Acute care nurse practitioner Mary Montefusco, ACNP, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center shares the most common questions her team hears, such as what to pack, how long to plan for, and what chemotherapy will feel like. Michael Goldman reflects on his own anticipatory concerns as someone new to chemotherapy. Montefusco offers reassurance that modern antinausea medications make the experience very different from chemotherapy of decades past, while acknowledging that fatigue is common. She and medical oncologist James Smithy, MD, MHS, then walk through what to expect during the interleukin-2 (IL-2) phase, including the onset of rigors, the importance of telling staff right away when chills begin, and why IL-2 is given after the TIL infusion to help the new T cells grow and work against melanoma.