Hi Cindy,
I take a 150 dose of Tarceva every night at bed time. I did have some stomach upset the first week, but it was not real bad, just odd. I joked that I had an alien in my belly as it was making funny noises, but after the first week it went away.
I also had radiation right at the beginning of my diagnosis, followed by traditional chemo. The chemo made me so sick that I was hospitalized three times, put on IV antibiotic, my kidneys were damaged, and had to have blood transfusions. I lost 30 pounds and was nearly bed ridden for the majority of September thru November. The doctor had run out of things to try and I was done with chemo. I had no quality of life and refused to even see my friends because I was afraid I would vomit on or near them. In the three months I had no chemo treatments my cancer spread. It was only going to be a short amount of time before I lost the fight. So when Tarceva became an option I jumped on it. The paperwork and warning labels are very scary, but no more so than regular chemo.
Now on Tarceva I have my life back. I'm still not 100%, it will take a while to get my strength and energy back. But I am eating, going out with friends, going on daily walks and even started horse back riding again. I can clean my house and help my amazing husband who took such great care of me when I was sick. There are pictures of me in my introduction thread on my first girls night out since getting my diagnosis, bald head and all.
I know I am very lucky that my Tarceva rash is mild and the itching and dry skin it manageable AND that my initial results are so good. I know some people get it much worse. I hope it will continue to work for me, I feel like it has given me a second chance at life. I'll be thinking about you and your journey and hope it goes well.