Ibrance (Palbociclib)
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Great news, JoT! And Husband has a good suggestion!
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JoT -I’m happy to hear the great news on your results. I’m thinking the Faslodex is probably helping even without the Ibance. Husband’s trial sounds interesting for a schedule. I do 100 with 18 days on, 10 days off
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TY all for remembering...home yesterday afternoon at 4 .after nite of vomiting..in hospital..not half as sore as last one ten yrs ago.
Tues.after Sentinel node biopsy.then 2&1/2 hrs op..1&1/2 hrs recovery rm..in hosp bed at 5 pm..in Pediatrics!!!lol Yep home less then 24 hrs after surgery. Had two great naps today..getting off couch and bed easily.... Took one norco yuck nightmares..Tylenol works fine..Dick great with one drain..See dr Mon..lymph nodes clean!!!! but still have to wait for path report of breast.TY for your encouragement..so healing.!!!
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JoT, those are amazing results-so happy to hear! Hoping you feel better soon and you are able to work out a dosing regimen that keeps your neutrophils at a reasonable level while kicking cancer’s butt.
Sharlene, good to see you in such good spirits and already getting about. And great news about those nodes being negative. Have a quick and painless recovery
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JoT: Doing a happy dance about your good results. Something is working, and I trust they will find a regimen that will not tank your neutrophils.
Lakewoman, good news about your clean lymph nodes. Yay! But sorry to hear you struggled. My lymph nodes is where they found my original cancer and was the last to become inactive so we are different there. I will keep you all in my prayers.
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Great news, JoT.
LakeWoman, my surgeon wanted me out of the hospital ASAP because of hospital acquired infections. Good news on the nodes. Take it slow and easy in your recovery. Hope things go smoothly.
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Hi ladies!
I am new to the forum, though not new to MBC. (Diagnosed 1/18/17). I have been on various chemos since then, and am finally stable enough that my MO is comfortable switching me to Ibrance. I will be taking Ibrance/Femara/Lubron combo.
Any suggestions on how to best prepare for this treatment and its side effects? What should I expect? I am extremely hopeful, and nervous at the same time about switching off chemo. My first onc didnt even expect me to live this long, so the idea of long term survival and treatment is something I barely dare consider, even though I am SO MUCH healthier than I was at the start of this journey.
Thanks in advance!
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Sorry if this was discussed somewhere within the 408 pages hehe
Today we got our hands on the first box of Ibrance. Doctors didn't seem very informed about the drug as a whole (granted, Italy just approved it this past February but I would expect my wife's MO to be a little more educated than saying "this drug doesn't generally cause any relevant SEs. As if...End of rant). They gave us a long list of meds that should be avoided while on it and to make a long story short, they didn't notice my wife is on Zoloft, which is part of that list. I won't be able to communicate with anyone until the week-end is over but she obv can't cold turkey Zoloft. Is anyone aware of this for Ibrance? Zoloft/sertraline doesn't seem to be listed as a drug that would interfere on the official Pzifer site.
Daniel
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Daniel, is it too late for you to call the Pfizer help line or the specialty pharmacy (if that is where you get the medicine) for help with your questions? So important to have access to good help and guidance. Good luck to you and your wife as you begin this journey. We're with you-
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Daniel I agree with the comments above. Get in touch with Pfizer, first via the Ibrance website. Their pharmacist should be able to advise you on tapering off the antidepressant and adding a new one, and when to safely start the Ibrance. Is your wife on tetrazole or another AI? If so, she can wait a few days or even weeks to start Ibrance. I had to wait about the month after starting tetrazole to get coverage for Ibrance and still have had good results. No need to panic.
Hobbes
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Amandalynn: After what you have been on, especially the chemo, this combination will be a piece of cake. I did six cycle of FEC and docataxol, ad compared to that this combo is easy. My only side effect is fatigue, and its minimal compared to chemo fatigue. Congratulations on making it this far. Now you can plan ahead. I have been on it for 10 months and feel so much better. Some women have been on it for years with good results.
Hobbes
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Amandalynn, welcome to this lovely, loving and supportive group. You'll be amazed at the spectrum of information and support you'll find here. We're glad to have you and hope that Ibrance will be a happy and successful change for you!
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Welcome Amandalynn! I am on cycle 30 with Ibrance and letrozole with a bone strengthener. Still stable. Wishing you a long long run on this combo!
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Ibrance May be failing. I’ll have scans again bin about five weeks, but my tumor markers continue to go higher and higher. If so, MO says weekly chemo will be next, I’m thinking he’s talking about weekly Taxol. Time will tell
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Gracie....When Ibrance failed me (the first time around), I was put on Taxol. I had 15 infusions. Scans were good and all was stable. So, I'm back on the Ibrance train for the 2nd time...hoping it doesn't fail me again. I'm just at the end of my 3rd week of my first round.
Hope
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Welcome to the newbies here! Seems like a few new names; you have found a great spot for information and support!
Gracie - I am hoping and praying this is just a 'blib' and everythig starts to do what it is supposed to, always the uncertainty
. I am 2 weeks into cycle 3 and just so tired and sore, but I can deal with those SE for now!!Have a great warm, sunny healing weekend everyone! Cheers...
J
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Hello ladies, had blood test this week on day 14 of cycle 1. bad news CEA tumor marker surged upwards near 1700 from 300. Not a good sign I don't think. nurse does not think this is tumor flare. Onc did not comment. just finishing week 3 of first cycle and feeling down with this news. Don't really know what to make of this.
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JoT; that is amazing! congrats!
change in dosing schedule, makes sense to me. I feel wiped out with 21 days on. near end of first cycle.
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Hi everyone- I am so encouraged by all of your great news posts and those who are on their 20th + cycles. It does give me that little bit of hope that seems so elusive on certain days.
Sorry to hear about the TMs surging. It’s always scary since we have so little to go on in between scans. My MO always says not to worry. But, I’m feeling a little wary of my treatment plan lately.
I’ve had some challenging issues come up. My Ibrance isn’t great and really fairly side effect free. But, there’s still a discrepancy about my last scan. It’s possible I also have a primary gyn cancer, or just more BC metastasis ON my ovaries. Ugh! My MO and the radiologist do not agree on what the pet scan shows. So, I sent all my info to Dana Farber for second opinion, and they are now questioning the original pathology. Apparently they can’t even confirm that it’s BC metastasis. It may be metastasized ovarian cancer. So, they are going to do more stains and get another biopsy. But, either way I’m feeling extremely unsettled. Also, my second opinion from Dana Farber suggested a lot more genetic testing since my BRCA test was 9 years ago. I didn’t come unglued, but it’s been a tough few days.
M
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Oh, Georgia... not knowing is always SO hard. Thank goodness you have Dana-Farber in your court asking important questions. I'm thinking about you. Please keep us posted on your news. Hugs to you-
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Georgia, Good grief, as if you didn't already have enough on your plate! Now they have turned everything upside down and jumbled it all over the place. A few tough days? My goodness, Georgia, that is an understatement. No wonder you feel extremely unsettled. We would all feel that way under your circumstances, but as Joyner so wisely stated, the not knowing is always hard. Do you have any idea how long it will take for Dana Farber to be ready to present their findings to you? It is human nature to imagine the worst while we are waiting for answers and clarity. Do you remember how you felt when you were waiting for someone to tell you if you had MBC? If you are like me, you felt like your world was spinning out of control, like there was no hope for a future, like you would never smile again. Unfortunately, you are in that same situation again now, and that is completely unfair. Although it is all scary, you will hear the answers you need to have, and you will move forward on whatever path is necessary. Things will settle into that new normal that everyone talks about. (Personally, I don't like that term, but there it is.) You will once again smile at the joys that fill your life. No matter what happens, we will be here to help you through it. As for now, if you do find yourself becoming unglued, that's okay. It happens to each of us every once in a while.
I will include you in my prayers and hope for good news.
Hugs and prayers from, Lynne
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Lakewoman, I hope you're continuing to heal and being waited on hand and foot!
Amandalynn, welcome. Once you get the Ibrance two-step down, it should be quite doable. My first 3 months were the hardest, with various aches and pains in met and non-met sites, mouth sores, and fatigue being the biggest issues. Exercise is a great help, even just a walk. Let us know how you're doing.
Gracie, the mind can take you to dark places-try to resist as tm's can fluctuate for a host of reasons. How do you feel? If you otherwise feel good, that's a good sign.
Hope, same deal. With all due respect to the nurse, he/she cannot guess what is causing the change.
Georgiabirdgirl, thinking of you, darling. 50sgirl said it well. You're back at the GO square, figuring out where you are and what's next. Take extra care of yourself and schedule time for what you need - a walk in the woods, tea with girlfriends, binge watching The Crown.
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Welcome to all the newbies. This is a loving, caring group of people who support each other and we can usually rustle up someone to answer your various questions.
Hope991.....so scary when TMs surge up and yours have gone up a long way so I can understand your worry. The best advice I can give at times like this is try not to look at the future, just stay in the moment and don't let your mind carry you away until you've seen your MO. I agree that nurses shouldn't say too much at times like this. It could have happened for reasons they're not aware of, as Jaylea said. Nevertheless it is worrying and I'll add you to my prayers and I send you love.
Amanda .... welcome to this thread even though it's not a place any of us wanted to find ourselves. Jaylea is right (again) Ibrance's reputation is worse than its reality. I can't tell you how you will feel on it, we all tend to have different effects from it. I even find it different from cycle to cycle. Some cycles my mouth gives me trouble, with cold sores and ulcers, another cycle it will be nausea. Fatigue is always present but you kind of get used to working through the fog of tiredness. You become accustomed to it and you find little tricks to ease your own particular SEs if you have them. We can all help you with that.
georgiabirdgirl .... sending you all the love in my heart as you wait to find out what's going on. I'll be praying for you and thinking of you.
Gracie .... you've had such a frightening time lately. I pray that the soaring TMs are controlled soon. Sending all my love as you wait yet again to find out what your treatment will be.
I've lost track of names, I haven't been on this thread for several days and it's been busy. Someone asked the question whether neutrophils are the only reason a cycle will be delayed. My cycles are always delayed and it's always only because of low neutrophil absolute count. My other levels are also either too low (e.g. my haemoglobin is always low) but it's only my neutrophils that are mentioned in respect to starting a new cycle.
Someone else was mentioning the size of red blood cells. Mine are said to be "wider" than normal? but I'm told that's insignificant so I guess it's just a person to person thing.
Scan results on Wednesday for me. I'm feeling more confident now that the scans are done. Oh boy, they had trouble getting that cannula in this time! In the end a male ex army nurse got the needle in. I'm very slight and my veins don't like having a large needle inserted (I don't mind, it's just my veins that object!) and he knew he was going to have to hurt me to get it in after the woman phlebotomist had 3 goes and couldn't get it in because of fear of hurting me. It went through a nerve so it wasn't a lot of fun for a couple of hours but we've all had worse than that!
Love to everyone and I'm sorry to those I've missed out. Four pages of posts since my last visit.......
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Thank you Leapfrog for your words of encouragement. I will try to not overthink it. My MO wants me to continue with Ibrance as too soon to tell if it is working. I am finishing first cycle. Sorry to hear about the needle and the pain. You are one strong and wise woman.
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Hope991, we have all heard so many times that it can take Ibrance months to get rolling. Mine didn't show actual improvement for 6 months or so and many have reported 6-8 months before the effects are visible. I hope that you'll be able to hang in there. It could yet be your miracle drug!
Hugs to you and yours-
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Iwrite is bone stenthening drug prolia ?? Someone wrote about taking Claritin..not D pre and post for few days....any thoughts?
Jaylea..Not a good patient..think I should be better faster My guy would do anything for me and does..drain too.I prepared easy meal yesterday and today..Went on deck..NOT dock and cast a few with right hand..Feel bit queasy..started ibrance a few days ago...See surgeon tomorrow..
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JoynerL, I will take it one day at a time. almost done my first cycle. I am hoping for a miracle, thanks for your support. Have a nice day.
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Hope991, My MO has told me several times that testing of TMs should not be done until a new treatment has been in place for at least 3 months. I have read that same recommendation in literature from the cancer society and from ASCO. The reason is that TMs are completely unreliable during those first three months. They frequently,yes FREQUENTLY, become elevated as the new medication fights those nasty cancer cells. Those cells goes crazy trying to fight the medication ( my words of course). Day 14 of cycle 1? Hey, take the TM spike as good news unless you have definitive proof to the contrary. I suspect that the nurse is not familiar with this darn unpredictable miracle called Ibrance! Don't worry, we've got you.
Hugs and prayers from, Lynne
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50sgirl great post..Good for all of us to learn.
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thanks Georgiabird, Jaylea for your support.
50sgirl, thanks for your optimistic perspective. Really needed it. Cross my fingers and praying for all of us.
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