Ibrance (Palbociclib)
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Great news on the scans Zimmerwoman!
Babs
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This is my first post on this thread. I started Ibrance/ femara on July 25th. I took my last one of this cycle 2 days ago
My WBC went from 8 to 4. My onc is keeping me on 125 mg for now.
I have had exhaustion, but nothing else to bad. I've had diarrhea three times in the whole course and it didn't last long.
Myra1211- I started Cymbalta a little bit before the Ibrance. I tried it mostly because of severe nerve pain in my primary tumor.
It's been amazing! My tumor pain is almost gone ( I get twinges now and then) and my outlook is much better. I was getting pretty dark moods.
So far I'm ok with all of it.
I'm amazed at all the women still working full time! I had a very physical job and simply can't do it. You guys are incredible.
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Good morning all. I have been MIA for the last weeks. I have been blessed with my first grandchild. A beautiful little girl named Mallory. I will post pictures at the end.
Sorry I have not acknowledged all the newbies here. Welcome and I hope you have great success with Ibrance.
Congratulations Lynnwood for your great results. Roses and 3Holly congratulations for the most part to you both. My TMs continue to rise, so may be my last cycle even though scans were good. Don't want to think about that now.
Kudra, thx for the cymbalta encouragement. Not sure it is working yet.
My biggest problem with this med is anemia. Very dizzy and fatigued. Have to wait like 30seconds before walking when getting up.
Anyway, here are a couple of photos of my Mallory. Can't believe my baby has a baby now!!
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CONGRATULATIONS, Myra! Mallory is Beautiful!!
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Myra, congratulations on your BEAUTIFUL new granddaughter!! I hear there is no greater love then to see your child have a child. I can only pray that I will see a grandchild one day. Enjoy this special time
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I have been taking Ibrance for four months. Can't tolerate Femera because pain is overwhelming. Also have Falsodex shots monthly and Xgeva shot monthly. My numbers keep getting higher. I'm at an all time high of 535 on CA-15. Two years ago it was 50 and under. Get a pet scan next week. I feel great besides fatigue. I sleep ALL THE TIME! Anyone else sleep alot? Looks like if it keeps rising Ibrance will be no more. Wonder what my next step is? Anyway that's really on side effect. Praying for u all. Pray it starts working for me.
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hi. I've lurked since this thread started since Ibrance was looking so promising. Thanks hope for starting it. Femara failed me after 2 years so I started Falsodex shots yesterday and Ibrance tomorrow. W
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Patty, glad to see you join our group! Lots of great information and support here! Good luck with your new treatment! Ibrance has been easily tolerated by me , just some fatigue.
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Congrats on your new grandchild! I have six - 5 girls and our first boy-3months old! No greater joy at this stage of my life. I have only been on Ibrance for 3 days now, 100mg and I am also very faint and dizzy if I get up fast. I hope this goes away as i am planning on returning to work in 2 weeks. Also having morning runs (I take my pill after dinner). Enjoy your new baby !
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Oh, Myra, I am SO happy for you. One of my greatest wishes is to live to see my grandchildren. I share in your joy! She is so beautiful.
Like others, I sometimes don't keep up with this thread, but I want to say welcome to all the newbies. And an extra hug for the former lurkers, cuz I lurked on BCO for a long time myself.
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Welcome Patty! Waiting to see based on this Thursday's bloodwork if I need my dosage of Ibrance lowered or stopped for a bit. My WBC are 2.2. Sounds low but I don't really know anything about this. I don't want to stop yet as I already blew threw Tamoxifen and Arimidex so quickly.
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Hello from Alaska. I started on Palbociclib/Letrazole treatment two weeks & 1 day ago. I realize after reading your posts that those of you who were in the clinical trial paved the way for the FDA to approve this combo therapy for me. If I understood the booklet & my ONC, the Letrazole shots are supposed to increase the effectiveness of the pills, and double my life expectancy from 11 months to 20.5 months. So, a big thank you to each of you! I still have more chemo available as a option but I'm saving that until the last round of tx.
Headache, and mild nausea is the main s/e I have experienced. I am so relieved! I tried 2 (Arimidex & Exemestane) Aromatase inhibitors in the last 6 months & both caused horrific carpel tunnel syndrome, where my arms were dead & painful nerve spasms day & night. So this combo med seems so much better so far. My ANC did drop to 1.22 at 2 week labs, yesterday. I also get dunoximab shots 1x monthly for bone repair, for my bone mets. I have not had hair thinning or loss...yeah! My hair is the longest it has been since I lost it 4 times in the last two years.
So I will follow this thread. I do have a personal question to ask. Does anyone know if my husband is supposed to wear a condom during intercourse while I'm on this? That was the ONC recommendation while I was on chemo, but idk about this while on hormone blocker. I'm 42 & only married 4.5 years to the most wonderful man & I don't want to give up trying to maintain a sex life. Not that I have much libido after HT, chemo & oophrectomy.
wish there was a pill for women for that!Thank you!
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Congratulations Myra! She's beautiful.
You mentioned being dizzy or faint. I'm on my week off of my third round and have had a lot of issues with feeling faint (not dizzy) the past two weeks, often when I stand up and sometimes when I'm already up and walking. I've had low sodium counts the last month and wonder if that is the cause. Anyone else?0 -
In response to the white blood count questions...I'm at the end of my 3rd cycle at 125 dosage. My WBC was at 5.0 before Ibrance, dropped to 2.2 after 6 weeks, but I've come back to 3.1. My ANCwent to a low of 1.0, but hascome back to 1.8.
Of course, I'm the one complaining about feeling faint.
Thanks to all who have shared info on this site. It has been very helpful.
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Hi Ibrance ladies,
I started Ibrance and Femara 3 months ago. Took a while for my tumor markers to go down, but after about 6 or 7 weeks, they did! Down about 40 points! But then, in the next month, they went up about 30 points. We did a scan and we saw slight progression in my liver mets. Mets that were 6mm are now 8mm and 8mm is now 1cm. Plus a new spot in liver. Right now, that's all we see.
My doctor thinks this combo isn't working. I tend to agree, but we both hope we are wrong. I'm awaiting tumor marker results from yesterday's blood draw. If they go down, I'll be thrilled and we will stay the course and see what happens.
If TM go up, our plan is most likely IV chemo, Doxil. Even though this is a RELATIVELY mild chemo…and I mean relative to some of the awful ones, I still dread going on IV chemo again. It has been 13 years since I had ACT for my Stage II cancer. In the 4 years since Stage IV diagnosis, it's been oral meds. And I know the port is the way to go, still not looking forward to that, either. I never liked my port before.
I am so happy this combo works for so many of us! Hoping and praying for the slight chance that it is just working slowly in me! But, if it is not, I will have to move on.
Anyone else have Ibrance and Femara fail….anyone on Doxil?
Thanks,
Julie
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Congratulations Myra-nothing better than being a grandma!
Babs
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I just started ibrance a little over a week ago. So far I've had major canker sores and have to take an antibiotic to help get rid of them
I've had Stage 4 for almost 3 years and it gets a little more frightening each time the cancer returns.
I've started a non profit just for all of us with Stage 4 Metastactic Breast Cancer called Purple Power.
www.purple-power.org. For awareness and research for us all. Have a great board and at this time donations will go to the City of Hope.
It's great to have this forum and to learn from others and to know your out there for support .
Thank you
Janis
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Hi Julie,
I had very similar results as you did, although my liver tumors grew a bit more than yours. My onc put me on Xeloda, which, so far has been tolerable. I just finished my first cycle, which is 21 days, so I probably need a few more before we do scans. I have no idea if it's working. If not, I think my onc will do a liver biopsy. A Her+ result would add some options.
I see that you have already tried Xeloda, so I can see why going to infusions will be your best bet if Ibrance fails. I certainly hope that your tumor markers drop and that the drug is working for you. Good luck!
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I don't think that is too bad. I was at 1.4 and able to continue with a dose reduction. So, barring any unexpected hitches, I will be able to continue round 3 at 100mg. I didn't have mouth sores this time and other than some fatigue at the end, this has been really easy! I started out at stage 4, so I have no experience with any other treatments to compare
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aka Shelley, I've never been told my husband should wear a condom, on this combo or any other chemo I have been on. Maybe he doesn't want you to get pregnant?
Sandilee, I may be right behind you. Xeloda is my next step. TMs going up, luckily no progression on scan so it bought me a couple of more months in Ibranceland . If TMs keep moving in the wrong direction, I'll come find you on the Xeloda thread.
Myra, beautiful baby!
Welcome Patty. I see you on the Bone mets thread, where I lurk. That thread moves so fast I can't keep up, so I haven't jumped in yet. I reallyhope this combo works for you.
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My goodness, look at all the great news! Myra, Mallory is an angel! And Zimmerwoman, great news on the scans! And all out newbies, wishing you much success on this combo!
As for the WBC questions, my understanding is it's the ANC (Granulocytes or Neutrophils) that they use to decide whether to take a break or lower the dose--WBC is related, but not exactly the same. My onc told me an ANC lower than 1.0 was the cutoff and I think below 0.5 was the hospitalization point. I was hovering around 0.8 for a while and as low as 0.6, but I seem to do better on the 75mg pills, so that's good
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so today is the day my Ibrance comes in. Mo nurse said start it today since I just had labs Monday when I started Falsodex. Mo said will do labs weekly for awhile. He said I will e his 4th patient using Ibrance. The other 3 were last ditch efforts when everything else has stopped. He said they didn't have the time to let it start working. So I'll be his 1st after the first progression. He was in excited but very concerned about low counts. Several of his colleagues in the same clinic are using this and seeing some success and some failure. Either way Falsodex would have been next step. I am both excited hoping that it will help stop the cancer progressing and scared that we don't know much about side effects yet. I do find comfort in readings everyone's experiences here. Thanks for sharing.
Glad to see so many people I already know here and happy to meet others.
Stefajoy - Hi there. Jump in on the bone mets thread anytime. YEs it moves fast but once you jump in and get to know people its pretty easy to keep up. Lots of good information and support.
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I haven't been on this thread much lately, so haven't been able to keep up with everything. Welcome to all the newbies in Ibranceland and hoping that you all achieve regression with minimal side effects. For me it has been a fairly easy combo to tolerate. The supplements that I take have really helped to manage the low blood counts. I have also been taking some which help with the joint stiffnes from the Femara. I would encourage the newbies to read the posts from several months ago regarding the supplements to help with the low blood counts that both Myra and I have posted.
Patty glad to see you here. And so happy that you have recovered from your time in the hospital. Praying for you to get good results. My onc has one patient who was very advavanced also and coulldn't tolerate the side effects of Ibrance. He seems to feel that if the bone mets have greatly impacted the bone marrow that it is more difficult for your counts to rebound. Not sure about that, but it makes sense. She was also not able to tolerate the Ibrance as your oncs patients could not.
Myra, Mallory is beautiful. Congratulations. What a joy. Praying for you to have lower TMs also.
Julie I see that you've been on most of the oral chemos, so I suppose that the IV chemos are next. Have not had Doxil, but did have high dose ACT when diagnosed in 1997. I've had Abraxane which was NOT difficult other than hair loss. My onc says you can give that again after a year, so that is still an option for the future. In my situation, since I've not had Faslodex, my onc plans on giving Faslodex/Ibrance when the Faslodex/Femara stops working. Would that be an option for you?
So far so good for me in Ibranceland. I actually had a small rise in my TMs initially but then they have come down to slightly below where they were when I first started the combo back in 2/15. For me the TMs have always been very reliable. My onc also does things very diffently than other Drs. and gives the CTC test.
Myra and Stephanie, is your onc planning on switching from Ibrance without scanning again if TMs continue to rise?
Have a great day everyone. Very hot here in NYC today.Dorothy
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Just had my 2nd Faslodex shots today, and I was surprised and my onc seemed concerned that my neutrophils (?) were at 1100 after just 2 weeks on Ibrance. WBC 3.2 vs. 7.1 two weeks ago. RBC and HGB are down too, and other blood readings look messed up. Darn.
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Raine how are you doing? I haven't logged in a couple of weeks. I had to be lowered to 75mg be caused my platelets dropped to a dangerous level.
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Dorthy can you help me with info for the supplements to raise the blood counts?
Suzanna
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Dorothy, we are just going to watch the TMs for the next two months. If they keep going up then it's time to rescan and switch to Xeloda
The scan is primarily a base line for the new treatment.
Stefanie
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Wishing everybody dropping TMs!
Good news: I had my PET-CT and my onc says it is boring.
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oh Sheltand , we should all be so boring! I would love to hear that come out of my oncs mouth. It's so simple and yet so wonderful. Enjoy the boringness of your cancer (yawn). Heehee.
Stefanie
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Shetland, boring is great! I'll take that anytime
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