Ibrance (Palbociclib)
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Yes! I lived in Alaska for 6 years and watching the Aurora is something that I really miss.
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Oops--that message was for Lindalou. Newbie here.
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I, too am in my fifth round of ibrance. My side effects are not too bad. Except for the pain in my back. Went for a massage today and came home with extreme pain in my back. I am interested in the sauna treatments or some other alternative help. I am using all the pain medication I can take and still in pain. Any ideas? Wishing you all well.
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Hi everybody,
I got some mixed news today. My PET results came back and the mets that were on my liver and spine did not light up this time so that was great to hear. However my tumor marker is on the rise again. It's a pretty good indicator for me so it's something I'll definitely have to watch. But for the time being I think I"ll just allow myself to join Susan in that happy dance.
I'm currently on a break from the 125mgs and hoping my counts bounce back enough to restart at 100mgs soon.
To the folks that were talking about Medicare and Ibrance... I don't currently have medicare but I'm wondering about the future. Babs, were you able to get it sorted? Does anyone know definitively if Ibrance is considered a drug or a treatment? Max-otto did I read correctly that you have Medicare, Medi-gap, and a separate drug insurance plan that covers the Ibrance?
Deb, I have a similar problem. Back hurting like all get out lately. The stabbing pains have calmed a lot on Ibrance, but that nagging, dull ache just never goes away. Have you heard about the BioMat? They sell them on Amazon. I'm looking into that to go along with my accupuncture as I don't do too well with pain meds. They can be a little pricey but there's a smaller one now that is like half the cost of the original BioMat I believe. Some of the people here also do the Infrared Sauna. I haven't tried that yet but it's high on my list.
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Yes
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Kaydeesmiles I have a Biomat and love using it. It is great for pain relief but also the FarInfraRed technology is said to help fight the cancer. My onc actually has them in his treatment room also. The best manufacturer is Richway. They don't sell direct, only through distributors. Of course I realuze that in itself is not going to cure the cancer. When I was on Halevan and would have that feverish slightly off feeling, an hour on the Biomat would help tremendously. It is said to be great for detox and inflammation. I have the half body mat but at some point I am going to purchase the full body mat. Ma4ny alternative Drs. here n NY offer treatment wisth the biomat. I have gone for the FarInfraRed sauna also. My onc thinks it works similar to the Biomat. In Japan they claim to have successfully treated cancer with the biomat. But of course it must be very intense treatment. Supposedly using the full Biomat to lie on and the half on top.
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Kaydee, glad to hear about your scans - those may tell more than the tumor markers, hopefully.
Deb20 and others, very sorry to hear about your pain - the biomat does sound good to me, as I am staying away from pain killers as long as possible since I'm driving kids all the time to faraway games. Thank you, Pearlady, for that interesting info - Are these mats very expensive?
Praying for everyone to have their insurance issues settled. No one needs this extra stress, cancer treatments and scans give us enough stress!
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So my third round of Ibrance cost me $250 copay. First two rounds cost nothing out of pocket because of waiver and coupon.
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Hi ladies,
I am newly (June 8, 2015) diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and this is my first diagnosis. I have two very small lesions in my liver. I am 36, no kids, never married and have not going through menopause yet. I was given a Zoladex shot two days ago to shut down ovaries and I started on Ibrance and Letrozole yesterday for the first time. Your posts are giving me a positive out look on all of this. In two weeks I will go for my first blood test. Hoping all goes well with that. Praying for you all!!
Monika
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Praying for you Monika. Sorry to have you join us here but know we're all here to help and support each other so rant rage or ask questions at any time!
I applied for pfizers need based help and was approved. A family of 2 must make under $79,000 and change. They do NOT ask for documentation. And if one is on a Medicare part d drug plan then theyre not eligible for Pfizers $10 co pay plan. My Medicare part D Humana pays for Ibrance but the copayment is $2400 until you meet catastrophic level and then the co pay goes down to $504 plus change. It is Medicare that won't let Pfizer offer the help. Crazy!!!!!
All I know is that no drug company should be allowed to charge people in dire need of a drug so much $ for that drug!!!
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Welcome Monika. Hoping ibrance kicks the butt out of ur liver lesions. Good luck! Myra
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Welcome Monika! I am new here myself and have learned a lot of valuable information in the short time I have been here.
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Monika, sorry about your new diagnosis. Please give us some more information about your diagnosis.
I'm not sure if you had BC before or if you had breast surgery? Can you tell us more about the type? I would love to give you some great seasoned advice, but I'm not sure where you stand.
With regards to the Ibrance and letrozole, there is a very good possibility it will do great things for you (and me, I hope). Fingers crossed.
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Finished my second cycle last week and saw my doctor yesterday for blood work. I got the go-ahead to start my third cycle on time. Yay! The 100mgs seems to be very tolerable for me; no side effects at all, and decent blood counts. I start again on Saturday.
He also scheduled me for a scan in three weeks.
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sandilee, that all sounds great.
Has anyone heard from Hope? I know she was on an Alaskan Cruise, and I think she left around the 20th, so I'm worried she is on the cruise ship that had the plane crash (although I'm sure she is fine)
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Dorothy and I were worried about the same thing. We do not know what line they were cruising. Hopefully all is well.
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Sandilee..glad you are doing well at 100mg. Since my WBC is so low to start with, I wonder if I could start at 100mg, instead of 125mg. Thoughts anyone? I'll ask my MO in 2 weeks when I see him. I'd like to get started.......Linda
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My Ibrance came in the mail today 6/26. I started letrozole on Tuesday. Tomorrow, I'll take the Ibrance and letrozole together. I've been told low white cell counts is a common side effect. I've also been told to watch for pulmonary embolisms (blood clot in the lungs). I'll follow to see how everyone is doing and what the main side effects seem to be. Good luck to all of you! Hugs, SharonA0 -
Sharon and Monika - welcome to the thread. The folks here are so knowledgeable. I know they'll be as big a help for you as they have been for me.
Monika, a scan at the beginning of the year showed some small lesions on my liver as well. Since then I've had four months of faslodex + an AI, then 3 rounds of Ibrance + AI - and the latest PET showed no liver mets. I've also done quite a bit diet and exercise-wise to try to make my body as inhospitable as possible to the cancer. A new diagnosis is beast to deal with and process. Hang in there.
pearlady, thanks so much for the BioMat info. I'm researching now.
Babs, so glad about your progress with Pfizer. Fighting the drug companies and insurance companies is definitely stressful and none of us need that. So it's the part D that's the problem? It appears that Max_otto has medicare but also has some other kind of insurance for drugs that covers the Ibrance. Will it be possible for you to switch to something like that when open enrollment rolls around?
Sandilee great to hear you can move forward! Hoping good scans are ahead.
Holly, yah - I'm going to take these little celebrations where I can. I'm wishing us all much luck on this drug.
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Not that I think nine adults dying in a plane crash is a good thing. Truly its horrific. That being said, I found myself relieved it wasn't two families with young kids.
Maybe because Ive been on that tour with my own family and I can relate to that, or maybe because I can now be sure our Hope wasn't on that plane (a little paranoid I know).
I hope everyone is feeling god today. Have a wonderful Saturday. I'm off to San Francisco for a 50th birthday party/surprise wedding. Fun!
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Good morning friends! Relaxing at a coffee house in Pike Place Market in Seattle. Found some organic cherries and feeling good to be off the boat. I found that I'm not a happy cruiser beyond about 4 days. We had fun and saw some amazing sights. However, the cramped balcony suite and non stop food was a bit much! I had some crazy pain days that may have swayed my enjoyment. Really need to figure out why some days are ok and others are off the charts! If it was progression, it seems that it would be constant, but what do I know! I will start round 5 of Ibrance tomorrow and probably talk to my MO this week about the pain spikes. Here's a pic of Seattle, really love it here in summer! Enjoy your weekend!
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Hope, so glad to hear you and your family are fine! My thoughts immediately went to your cruise when we heard of the plane crash. I am getting those damn spikes also. Somedays I feel like I can run a marathon, and some days my side hurts. PET this week. Hopefully, it is just my paranoia.
Sandilee, congrats on the blood work numbers. So glad you are able to maintain on 100 mgs.
Have fun this weekend all. We have not had rain in weeks, got free tx to an outdoor concert for volunteering, and guess what, it's raining.....UGH
Myra
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Hope,
How lucky you are! I have been to Seattle five times and have never seen it in the sunshine. I have experienced snow, sleet, rain, mist, and just general and miserable grey.
Welcome back! [though really sorry to hear about pain spikes.]
*susan*
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hope so glad you are back and safe. Of course we wondered if it was your family even though we knew it probably wasnt. Love Pike Place Market. Remember having some great breakfasts there. Beautiful picture of Seattle.
I hope you can get some answers on your pain. Back to the sauna? I spent hours yesterday on my biomat.
Arrived in St. Maarten today for 7 days on the beach. Just booked a foot reflexology. 86 and sunny. Love it.
Have a good weekend everyone.
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Awe, yes, I booked a foot massage on the cruise. Very relaxing. Myra...any ideas on what the heck is going on with pain spikes? I feel good today. Yesterday, I was miserable, in tears at times. Last night felt like the flu. So strange
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Back to the Ibrance cost question re Medicare: I just found an updated formulary online from the insurance company that provides my Medicare Part D (Rx) coverage. It indicates that Ibrance began to be covered May 1 as a Tier 5 drug. From what I can gather from my plan description, I would fall into the "catastrophic coverage" stage of the plan, which would pay "most of the cost for covered drugs" once I exceed $4,700 in out-of-pocket costs annually. Considering the supposed cost of the drug, this would happen very quickly.
Tina
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Tina,
That is the charge for just looking at a bottle of that drug.
*susan*
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Ha! Susan you are so right. The cost is ridiculous.
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Susan we are similar. Mets in 2011 for me. NED for 3 1/2 years on Faslodex, progression to bone in April, started in Ibrance end of May.
Loved your joke about the cost of the Ibrance. Good one.
Stefanie
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Kaydee
The Ibrance is covered under my plan (Part D Medicare through Humana) The co-pay is very high though. Until I reached the catastrophic level it was about $2400 per 21 days and now it's $504 per 21 day. It's because I'm on a medicare part D program, that I am NOT eligible for Pfizers $10 copay program-that's the issue.
Here's what's on Pfizer's web site about the $10 copay program
- The offer is not valid for prescriptions that are eligible to be reimbursed, in whole or in part, by Medicaid, Medicare, or other federal or state healthcare programs (including any state prescription drug assistance programs
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