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Showing results for tags 'alimta'.
Found 6 results
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Any body on Alimta? Side effects, success stories, etc. I start next Monday on alimta. First chemo platinum, then opdivo.
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My spouse was diagnosed almost exactly a month ago. Went in for ER visit believing it was a kidney stone causing pain in pelvic area. Through extensive tests and second opinions, it came back as stage 4 non small cell lung cancer (2.6 cm mass) with bone mets to the right pelvic bone (2.7 cm mass). shes currently finishing round 1 of chemo- alimta and carboplatin. The next round will add avastin. Four rounds total followed by radiation. As hopeful as I try to be, she is very doom and gloom. The dr talked at the last visit of when she is remission, and I take that as a sign that the team of Drs wouldn't talk of remission if they didn't believe it was possible. Biopsy of pelvic bone done at ER visit came back as not being The mutation suitable for tarceva, and confirming adenocarcinoma. He talked that if after remission she would relapse the next step would be opdivo. At the initial appointment, she was told that without treatment she would have six months to live. I guess what I am seeking is advice from other spouses/caregivers on how to keep it all together everyday. And if anybody has any survivor stories that they are willing to share- to possibly help her keep hope that there are tomorrows.
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Hello, my name is Christine. My, 71 yr old, Mother was diagnosed in Nov 2016 w/ Stage IV metastatic adenocarcinoma NSCLC (primary: right lung, spread to both adrenal glands, brain & right proximal tibia). At diagnosis she was given an estimate of 6-12 months to live, which was quickly adjusted to 6 months after they discovered 13 brain mets opposed to the 3 they originally saw. She had surgery to remove the tumor in her right tibia, which they filled with bone cement to stabilize the bone. She has completed whole brain radiation, radiation to the right tibia & 2 rounds of chemo: Paraplatin (Carboplatin), Alimta (Pemetrexed) & Avastin (Bevacizumab). The chemo was unsuccessful. The cancer spread to multiple bones in her left leg, her pelvis & spine. They stopped chemo & started Opdivo last week. It is too soon after completing whole brain radiation to do another brain scan to know if it helped. I'm sorry for the information overload....I'm just trying to give as much info as possible to see if anyone here has a similar situation & could offer some words of wisdom, offer a glimpse of hope or suggest ways I can help her. Thank you in advance for your help.
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Hello, I have been reading through discussions and posts on here for the last week and it has been a fantastic resource - so much caring and first hand experience and knowledge... it's really a great place. I am here because my father was diagnosed with Stage iv NSCLC with mets to the brain, back on October 25th. He is 67 years old and the diagnosis came quite by accident. He had fallen off of an unstable ladder while changing a light fixture and both his chest and head were impacted from the fall so an X-ray and CT scan were done to rule out breaks. Turned out that they found a lesion on the lung and a spot on his brain. We were all surprised as he had not been experiencing any symptoms. Please bear with me and excuse the lengthy write up - so much has happened in the 9 weeks ... He had a lung biopsy done week of October 24th and in the meantime, we started consultations for Stereotactic Radiation for the small brain tumour (as this needed to be treated right away). Nov. 4th - we met with his general oncologist to review the biopsy results only to be met with the news that they had not been able to gather a good enough sample in order to get the information required to put together a treatment plan. Since we were going to treat the brain first, the biopsy result was not so urgent (as he would not start any chemo until after the brain radiation. Nov. 16th - he underwent the stereotactic radiation treatment. He will go back for a follow up MRI on January 16th to see how the tumour was affected. Dec. 2nd - another meeting with his oncologist to review biopsy results and also review a recent chest scan that had been done earlier in the week. Biopsy confirmed NSCLC Adenocarcinoma (assumed to be wild type, but hey were still awaiting genetic testing results). The review of the scan showed very little change in the size of the tumour. Due to the imaging, the fact that my dad was still not experiencing symptoms and the fact that we were still waiting on some of the biopsy results, the decision was made to not proceed with any treatment, but to wait another two weeks until we had all results in. Dec.16th - Latest testing confirms that there is no presence of EGFR mutation but shows that the tumour does have a PDL-1 expression of greater than 50%, which meant that aside from standard chemotherapy, Ketruda was also an option for treatment. Although, not available under healthcare until a 2nd line setting. Again, seeing as Dad was not experiencing symptoms and it being so close to the holidays, we decided to wait until the new year to decide on the best approach to treatment. (Note: we were considering the private route for first line treatment with Keytruda). We were not due to see the doctor again until January 10th Dec. 20th - My Dad coughed up blood for the first time since being diagnosed. Dec. 22nd - Back to see the doctor to let him know that we felt it necessary to start a treatment right away and based on details from the previous appt., (treatment being more tolerable, outcomes a little more favourable) felt that Keytruda was the right approach and planned to access it via a private infusion clinic. The doctor recommended Cisplatin/ Alimta as a first attempt at treatment based on having the resources of the hospital team available to him and also knowing that Keytruda would be an option for 2nd line. Note: This is the only dr. appointment that I was not able to attend so I did not have the opportunity to ask all of the questions that I wish I could have. To Come- My Dad will have a first round chemotherapy treatment (of Cisplatin and Alimta) on January 6th. Based on my reading, I see that Cisplatin is of the more aggressive/ harsher/ less tolerated treatments. I would be interested in hearing of anyones experience with it. Has anyone here had Keytruda as a first line treatment and what was your experience with that? Also - it's been a long time since the lung cancer diagnosis ... without treatment - Has anyone else had a similar experience where treatment has been delayed due to other circumstances and what was your outcome? I wish you all a happy and healthy 2017. Thank you for your time and input. Stephanie
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LUNGevity Foundation will be recognizing the makers of Alimta and Cyramza at the New York gala. If you live in or around NYC and have benefited from either of these drugs please send an email to us at hope@lungevity.org to find out about a special opportunity!
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Hi everyone. I'm looking for New York Survivors who have taken Alimta for a possible opportunity. Please email me at calmendarez@lungevity.org for more information. Thanks!
