Bandit1776

Kellie, Thank you for the note. I also was diagnosed last March with stage IV lung cancer. I went through 10 months of chemo infusions of Cisplatin and Taxol. I didn't have too many side effects from that except loss of appetite, fatigue and I got chemo induced neuropathy, of which I still have in my feet. I will be starting on 150mg of Tarceva next Tuesday. I am still a bit nervous of the rash side effect, but you and everybody else I have dealt with here on Lungevity have definitely helped put my mind at ease a bit. I guess it is just the unknown I am afraid of. Most everybody does say if I develop the rash, it should be quite manageable. I'm just hoping I can still lead a somewhat normal lifestyle and that my quality of life won't be lessened. I'm not sure of what creams/ointments I should use to help with the itch and burning of the rash. I guess it will just be trial and error. I noticed you mentioned oatmeal bath? What exactly did you use for that? That does sound like a nice relaxing thing to do for a special treat. Did it help with the rash at all? Again, thank you so much for your note, as it did make me feel better. What dosage of Tarceva are you on? I was hoping my oncologist would have started me at a lower dose. NOT!! I was glad to hear of your success rate on the shrinkage of the tumor. That is awesome. Keep up the good work and stay strong. Keep in touch and I will do the same. Cindy

Hi Katie...thanks so much for the response. I would greatly appreciate it if you could connect me with a survivor whome I could talk/chat with about their experience with Tarceva. That would be awesome. I see my oncologist on Monday, at which time I have to let him know if he should get me started on the pill. I am doing as much research as I can before I make up my mind. Right now reading about some of the side effects has me so stressed out that I am tempted to say "no"to Tarceva. It is my only other option, so I would like to give it a chance. I just don't want my quality of life to be lessened. I hope it will allow me to lead a somewhat normal life. Again, thanks so much in advance, Katie. I do appreciate you contacting me. Cindy

My name is Cindy, and I am very new to Lungevity. Hopefully, I will get this right. I am a lung cancer patient and have been for 1 year. I have been through several types of chemotherapy for the last 10 months. My oncologist feels I have had enough chemo indused into my body for now. He therefore is starting me on a targeted chemo pill called Tarceva. I have been reading and studying about this pill for the last week, and losing a lot of sleep over it. I am scared to death of the side effects I have been reading about. My main concern is the ugly rash that I may develop while taking Tarceva. I don't want my quality of life to lessen because I don't want to go out in public and be noticed. Anyway, if I could find somebody to talk/chat to about this pill,. I would greatly appreciate it. I think I would feel better mentally if I could actually talk to somebody who is going through the same thing I am about to experience. I have until next Monday, March 10, to make up my mind and notify my oncologist if I am going to press on with this or just decide not to take the pill altogether. I do understand everybody is different, and side effects affect everybody differently. Any information or experiences I can get will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much in advance. Cindy