Thanks for your response. To clarify: his treatment was adjunctive. At the time they saw no sign of cancer outside the lung. Now, however, after 4 rounds of chemotherapy the disease seems to have spread during treatment with taxotere and cisplatin: it's now in the liver, bones and adrenal glands. His original tumor was EGFR positive that is why Tarceva came up as a viable second step.
This would be dependent on how well he is able to do his daily activities (this is taken as an index of the burden of disease, meaning how much the disease is affecting his daily living), as patients who are very frail may not be able to tolerate the side effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy. Since he had some treatment before, then he would have some insight into how well he was able to tolerate the treatment before.
since then the diesies showed improvment and shrinkage in tumor. . HE has been under maintance treatment with Tarceva since 2009 upto now. the previous PET-CT ON JULY 2011 WAS NEGATIVE AND CONCLUSION was that no evidence of residual hypermetabolic disease seen in lung.. but the recent CT showed smal new lesion 1,8 *2 cm. in comparison to previous.and his new PET -CT in TURKEY hospital FN shows new FDG(+)SUV max:5) pulmonary nodule in the lower lobe of the lung.
Some centers perform genetic testing to check for mutations that seem to predict response with this medication. Tarceva has a different side-effect profile than conventional chemotherapy - generally milder/less life threatening complications and seems to work well in poor performance status patients.
In general though, plans change depending on how well the cancer responds and the patient tolerates treatment. Keep an open mind and know your options.
Edema (fluid accumulation in any body part, resulting in swelling) has been reported as an adverse event in 37% of pancreatic cancer patients taking Tarceva, although this side effect has not been reported in lung cancer cases.
However, the type of edema associated with Tarceva use is either generalized or involves a swelling of both legs. Swelling in only one leg may not be due to this drug. Unilateral leg swelling may be due to a local infection (cellulitis) in that area.
how can i get doctor to prescribe tarceva for inoperable lung cancer with secondary brain cancer has recieved one chemo session for lung then 5 radiotherapy for brain...help??????
4 rounds of chemo of taxotere and cisplatin seem to have not worked as now he has mets in his liver, bones and adrenal glands. His doctor is aftraid that Tarceva is not recommended to someone with mets to the bone. That is not what I read. Can you please let me know if Tarceva is for him and whether that can hep stop or slow down the disease?
Thanks.
My father who is now 83 yres old is diagnosed with non small cell cancer with a large 3 inch mass in his upper right side. They state it is somewhere between a stage 2 and 3 due to the size. He is schedules to start radiation treatment in a week. However, they did state he is fit enough to have sugery but there is not guarantee he would not have complications from this. We are struggling to determine what is the better path to take. Will the surgery give him a better chance vs the radiation.
The pain i get daily is from my chemo medicine, Tarceva. Along with some other side effects. Losing my hair was bad enough but putting on 20lbs killed me! not really :-\ Anyway, its nice to know i have people out there who really care. I wish there was one of these sites for cancer patients. There probably is but im rarely on the computer. If any of you all are interested, my sister put up a website for me called Gina's Angels. It talks about how im doing and shows pictures and stuff.
Some get really ill, with all side effects mentioned, others get some side effects, or not so severe and others fly through treatment. You can never know how you will react, until you get there. I have not started treating, yet, but I am preparing myself for the worst. If it won't be as bad as I expect, I will be happy. If it will be as bad, I will at least be prepared for it.
Hello, I was just reading about an older dog having a problem with urinary incontinence and the treatment she was given, particularly the possible side effects. My White Bearded Collie (13 years old) started being incontinent last year and my vet has prescribed INCURIN 1mg daily. This has been mostly effective (just the odd occurrence when she was asleep or distressed). I was just concerned that it may have some serious side effects such as those mentioned for the other treatment (PPA).
He was on top of transplant list but all 3 livers that became available were unacceptable. Treatment side effects are nothing compared to end stage liver disease so I am very motivated to get through this for my son and myself.
I was able to work FT and care for an aging parent in 2005. She passed away in January of this year. I will miss her support but unfortunately will have more free time.
Some of us don’t get particularly ill from the treatment meds, Amy. I treated for a few years, and most of my complaints were centered around fatigue; I could have slept for weeks at a time :o).
How long is your treatment duration; 24, 48 or more weeks?
What genotype HCV are you?
What r the treatment my doctor said IV.but I C where there's pills so confused and really wish I knew what my numbers match.Thank you.
I mean some of them sound awful. Some good news? Will interferon ruin you physically and mentally for the rest of your life. I hear of some people who have done the treatment more than once on this site and have not complained that much and would be willing to tx again if need be.?????????????????????? thanks and Merry Christmas everyone!
Guess I got my answer 9.9 hemoglobin. Add procrit to the list.
Most of my side effects are gone, but I still have a few. I feel great,even with the few side effects I have left. What I noticed was they lessened in intensity as the days went by. Then at some point I would realize a certain side effect was gone. Then another and another. They just keep disappearing, but not all at once, and it is gradual. At least that is what I found. I also found that it is a little uneven, just like they are while on treatment.
I am in week 4 of the Olysio/Sovaldi combo therapy and am disappointed at the side effects I'm experiencing. Prior to starting the treatment I was very encouraged by what I was finding on the boards, especially after two bad experiences with interferon treatment and an allergic reaction to ribavirin. Unfortunately I am experiencing maddening itching which I'm controlling with Allegra and extreme fatigue and an all around foggy feeling.
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