Chemotherapy for Stage IV
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Marybe;
My doctor said if I ever need any dental work done, to let him know first; he'd take me off the Zometa for awhile, and I'd need to take antibiotics too. But cleanings are ok; it's the surgical procedures, like root canals and things like that, that he would worry about.
Fortunately, I had a great check up today, I was told my teeth are excellent shape!
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Marybe,
the first oncologist didn't answer when i told him about you, then he started laughing but agreed the abraxane/avastin is a good combo for me and it's working. i feel so much better!! My new oncologist and his assistant shook their heads and said message boards weren't a good resource. he doesn't even want me to research information. he says 'the internet has made my job harder'! but i still talk to him about things i've learned!! It's my life!!
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My Onc. actually encourages the message boards. He says anything that gives me support and a chance to talk/vent to someone who truly understands what I'm going through is a great thing. He also is VERY open to me questioning anything he does and always asking why, why, and why? lol He's the most compassionate Dr. I've ever known in my life and been an Onc. for 32 years. I also worked with him at the hospital for 15 years before becoming his patient too. He knows me well enough to know that I question every move he makes, especially since my recur got missed by him and my orthopedic for 5 months when I broke my hip. Most people may have switched Dr.s after going through that but I just couldn't bear too. I did seek a 2nd opinion and the Onc. was a real Jack A-- and I could tell did NOT like to be questioned and thought he was God. I don't like Dr.'s like that.
Suzanne
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My oncologist took me off the CMF, and I started on weekly Velban (Vinblastine) today.
I just got home, so it's too early to tell right now how I am going to feel from it.
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Kayleigh,
Did you hear from your lung biopsy yet? Just thinking about you. I did carboplatin, taxol and avastin. I know you can't do avastin but some taxanes work better than others for some women. I had 2 rounds of taxotere and couldn't tolerate it at all, so taxol it was and it was alright...that combo obliterated the lung mets ....gone....NED. Another friend of mine got lymph, liver and spine mets a month after finishing ACT. she did 4 rounds of Ixempra and Xeloda. Got rid of all but one lymph node. Now she is on carbo, gemzar and avastin and doing pretty well...waiting on next scan. Now we are triple negative, both diagnosed pre-menopausal, so we don't have as many choices as hormone positives but have had good luck. I would get a second opionion at a major cancer center if the tumor doesn't decrease or at least get stable. You have many more chemo options. Hang in there....christi
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Has anyone done Velban, or Vinblastine? I haven't been able to find out much about it; not from a personal experience anyway, and I've checked other message boards too. I posted about it in the "help me get through treatment" forum but I haven't had any response.
I've read enough medical articles about it; I'd really like to hear from someone though who has actually used it.
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I too am on Taxol and Avastin. I have had treatments since May 19th, each week for 3 weeks then off one week. My CA15-3 tumor marker was 2,950. I am down to 116! I have had 13 treatments and I have taken a leave of absence from work to heal. I have fractured ribs so I decided to take off and not have stress or the worry of having to get up to go to work. Good Luck. So far the only drawbacks on side effects are the steroids keep me up for 2 days and I have no feeling in my toes.
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Hi, i was wondering if anyone out there has any stories..positive ones...Im very very worried..Mom had breast cancer stage 2 about 11 years back with 12/24 lymph node involvment...She got a radical mastectomy done..and got Cytoxin and Adraimycin for chemo...After which she was on Tamoxifen and Femara each for 5 years..This year..3 weeks ago..discovered she had bone mets..and small spots in brain..which are being currently treated with radiation, and a liver tumor 3cm..Radiation to the head will end on Friday...and then either Taxol or Gemzar will start..she got her first round of Herceptin last week..to be done weekly. She is also Her 2 Neu Positive. PLEASE, Please help me out with what you know.....I really needed to reach out to you brave and beautiful ladies...Thank you and GOD BLESS each and every one of you...!!!!!!!
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Momsgonnabe.....lst of all I think it is wonderful that you are gathering information...it shows that you are a caring daughter and although all you learn may not be what you want to hear, the more you know the better you will be able to understand what is going on. I have been Stage lV for over 12 years. I have mets to my bones as well as my liver ....no brain mets, but similar to your mom. So the fact she has new mets does not mean an automatic death sentence. It is always scary when you find out there is a recurrence, but it sounds as if her onco has a plan. She is getting treatment which may get the cancer under control and put her into remission. I meet women every week in the treatment room who are getting herceptin and they are doing fine. I will say my prayers for your mother and know that the other women on here will also and maybe some of them will be able to give you information regarding their treatments. Marybe
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Alinakapur, You are right, but there are also many other combinations and types of chemo used for BC. ALso all oncos do not use the adriamycin the way they used to because of potential heart damage.
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Hi, Stage 1V dignosed 2004 -r. mastectomy. Been on Femara, then Faslodex injections, then Aromasen - 4 yrs on Zometa, now Aredia every 6 months. Spread suddenely acclerated in bones during the last year and now oncologist is deciding about Xeloda. I'm afraid of Xeloda but do not have a choice as there are 2 small suspicious liver mets.
I'd be appreciative to read of others experiences of the effectiveness of Xeloda and how long it took to see results..
I am now 80 and have survived for these years with a reasonably good quality of life. Arthritis has bothered me more than bone mets over these years.
Thanks for this Forum!
Greta
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Greta - I have been on Xeloda for the past 2 months (almost). I, also, was scared of it, particularly the hand foot syndrome thing. My onc had all his Xeloda patients on a one week on, one week off schedule and he maintains that this schedule has drastically reduced side effects. I had TMs done at the end of the first month and they were lower, but not a huge drop. My own "personal marker" is my left shoulder and the pain in it was gone at the end of the first week. I actually feel better than I have in ages. I started off religiously using bag balm on my feet at night (with socks) - as time as gone on with no indication of hand foot syndrome, I have become less religious about that regimen! I will be getting a PET scan next week and am anxious to see if my bones show the improvement I'm expecting. I am hesitant to sing the praises of Xeloda too loudly, as I know each of us has such different reactions to treatment. For instance, I expected Gemzar to be easy peasy and it was worse than taxoterrible! Please feel free to ask any questions and I'll be happy to respond. FYI, I'm no spring chicken either - was 63 in August.
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Hi...I am a 6 yr BC survivor....had a cramp in my stomach last week now i have liver cancer. I feel great, outside o fthe fact that I worry day and night. I just saw my oncologist and he is starting me on taxol and avastin. For now, once a week for 8/12 weeks. Ok, so I am scared to death. He says I am in good health, the mets are no where else..all other areas of my body are cancer free. He is optimistic BUT I do have it in that liver...does anyone have any experience with thos etwo drugs together? Especially uplifting ones! Thanks--I think I am going to go nuts..have 2 young kids and I keep trying not to sneak to the dark side.
Thanks to all. Your stories so inspire me and everyone.
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Sportsmom,
You say you have liver cancer, is it that or do you now have mets to your liver from your breast cancer? Taxol and avastin is a great combo. If you are triple neg, carboplatin, taxol and avastin totally got rid of my lung mets. Hang in there!! Hopefully this will kick it to the curb again. christi
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This is going to be a stupid question, but when I start my chemo again next week for my liver mets, will I be going through the same SEs as when my original chemo last Feb - April?
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Michele - what chemo will you be on? And - what did you do earlier in the year? They all seem to have their own peculiar SEs.
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I had Taxotere/Cytoxin earlier this year.
Next week I am starting Avastin, Gemzar, and Navelbine.
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Sportsmom.. Just to let you I had a liver lesion when i got Dx. I did taxol/avastin it cleared up my lesion.
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Michele - I did TC and other than severe tiredness, had few problems. I think almost everyone would agree that Gemzar and Navelbine are easier than Taxotere. I did develop atrial fib and angina while on Gemzar, but will never know if the Gemzar caused it as I have a strong family history. It also knocked my RBC down, so I was tired. No hair loss with either Gemzar or Navelbine. Many posters refer to Navelbine as Navelbind for good reason! Oh and Heather taught us that Gemzar (Gemcitibine - sp. ??) is Jim Beam. As a fellow Kentuckian, you'll appreciate that reference to one of our most prominent citizens! Sorry but I don't know a thing about Avastin. Keeping my fingers crossed that this cocktail will kick your liver mets out of the park!
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Thanks, Alpal!
What about WBCs? Oh, and I will be sure to get my SenokotS and eat it like candy like I did with my first chemo sets.
I guess what I want to know is, will I be hit like I did before? Almost bedridden the first and second day?
I was soooo tired and weak. ugh. I guess in the end it doesn't matter. It is what it is and I just have to accept it.
Speaking of Jim Beam, can we drink alcohol during chemo? I feel like a bloody mary from time to time. . . .
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Well I guess one perk of being Stage IV is that most docs aren't going to tell us not to do what we want to do! My guess is that your doc will say if you feel like a bloody, go for it! As I said, I don't know anything about the Avastin but I don't think Gemzar will knock you out for two days, it didn't me. Haven't heard of Navelbind doing it either, but could be. My WBCs which took a beating from Taxotere ( got Neulasta after they discovered it) weren't much affected by the Gemzar and RBC was never low enough to postpone treatment. My onc was concerned that they (RBC) didn't bounce back between treatments. They're fine now, so that was definitely the Gemzar.
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Avastin was one I hated, but as my onco said to me You hate all of them....that is not really true, but I guess I did gripe a lot about avastin and abraxane. On another board someone was writing about avastin and how it is being approved as really being an adjunct (sp) to chemo. All I know is that when I went to MDA they onco I saw there told me it had not been proven to enhance the effectiveness of chemo at all, but somehow had been approved anyway and I do know my local onco was prescribing it with just about all the chemos because I always ask others in the treatment room what they are getting. There was one woman who was really nervous when she had to be off of it for some sort of surgery she was having because her treatment has been working and she didn't want to mess things up. For me what I objected to was that I was so totally clogged up, sniffing and snorting like I had a cold all the time. I have problems with allergies as it is and this just added to my congestion. And I was getting nose bleeds and just did not find much that I did like about it at all. Plus it takes forever for anything to heal when you are on it. But that was just my experience and I guess if it actually helps, then it is a worthwhile drug. As with so many of the drugs, what works for one and what the SEs are for someone, does not mean it will be the same with you. I am now on navelbine and my only SEs are constipation which I have found is no problem at all if I take 4 sennaS before going to bed. Also I have neuropathy, but it is not anywhere near as bad as it was when I was on abraxane(member of the taxol family). My WBC was low several times on navelbine, but never so low they did not do my treatment, just gave me a shot of nuporgen(think that is what it was)and cut the dosage of navelbine. In defense of avastin, I will say my tumors shrunk and my CA 27/29 went down when doing the A/A combo, but how much of that was due to the avastin, I do not know. I actually got hives the lst time they gave it to me so I would always have to do premeds before getting it.
Re drinking....I don't think I would drink to excess, but my onco never told me I could not drink at all and my friend who is just went through chemo said when she asked her onco if it was true she shouldn't drink, the dr laughed and said no, you can drink. I we told everyone no alcohol period, no one would do the chemo. I lost my taste for drinking pretty much after the chemo...it burns and my stomach just doesn't tolerate it very well these days. Alpal is pretty much right about them giving you about anything you want and allowing you to do things when you are stage lV....I have all sorts of pain meds (most of which I don't even need) and I have a handicap plaque for my car and if I feel like I am getting a sinus infection or something I just call my GP up and he will call me in a Rx for a Zpac without me having to go in. So that is one of the few perks. I hope all goes well with your treatment....I understand your apprehension about what the SEs will be as it is always scary and we never know what the SEs will be until we try the drugs ourself. We are all sort of like guinea pigs when you come right down to it.
Mom2acat, How are you doing on the Velbane?
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Anyone else disappointed in ABC TV in CT last night - program about cancer? It stressed prevention and early detection which is critically important but only mentioned Stage 111 and never what is new for us in Stage 1V.
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Greta, There is a thread Why do I feel like we are being Overlooked on here that is exactly about that, how Stage lV is not discussed.....you might want to check it out.
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I am on taxotere, zometa and herceptine... i've done 3 tx so far and i have noticble shrinkage on the breast tumors, waiting ot get the scans to check my Mets!
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I'm starting taxotere on thursday, 3 weeks on, 1 week off, for my bone mets. Also doing zometa. Feel like I'm moving into the next "phase" of being stage IV.
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Just found out this morning that I have to go on Exloda, as after 6 years on Femara, Faslodex and Aromasin hormonal treatment has lost effectiveness and my bone scans are worse and now there are liver mets. I was shocked at the cost - may be over $5,000 + monthly. The Onc called the liver mets "ominous".
Greta
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Hey you experts on Taxol and Avastin,
Glad to hear your good news on liver mets (Greta note this).
I just got started on my first cycle this Monday. I am going to have one weekly infusion for 3 weeks, then skip the 4th: 1st Infusion: Taxol+Avastin, 2nd Infusion: Taxol only 3rd: Taxol + Avastin. Tell me what to expect. This will keep up for at least 3-4 cycles.
So far for me:
Tueday after infusion I started developing painful tumor flares in my liver and lower lung. Got going on percocet. Little nausea. Tried to go for a walk and just ended up coughing my lungs out and getting exhausted.
Wednesday: Woke with severe pain in my back, much more localized. Another tumor flare? Took a percoset thinking this was the beginning of something awful, but by the time it wore off I was pain free. Slept most of the day. Didn't want to eat anything but pecan sandies and milk all day.
Thursday. Sleeping a lot, percocet hangover--do not want to take that again unless it's absolutely necessary!!...bit of a headache but no pain. Nausea and fatigue a little worse. Threw away the pecan sandies. Took a 25 minute walk--no coughing!!! Too tired to think about doing anything much indoors.
Is the fatigue going to get better or be cumulative? Is there a point where I will start feeling normal enough to resume activities?
Bo
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When do you lose your hair?
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Hi Greta,
I do hope the new meds help you. I'm almost 2 years on Femara, and still NED. We're fortunate when the AI's help for so long. I hope I can be as lucky as you've been - 6 years is wonderful. Wishing you all the best in your new treatment.
Lane
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