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icbn

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Everything posted by icbn

  1. Randy, you are doing us all a grand favor. Thank you.
  2. icbn

    Tarceva

    Antibiotics of the tetracycline family (doxycycline, minocycline) by mouth are an effective therapy for rashes and nail tenderness, usually administered for two to four weeks. These cleared my Tarceva Fingers up rapidly. But am no longer on them , so my fingers are bleeding on the keyboard as I type. This is a good link for EGFR side effects. http://www.plwc.org/portal/site/PLWC/me ... 730ad1RCRD
  3. I had a small rash at the beginning with Avastin.
  4. No, I don't believe it is normal to experience chest pain or tumor pain after chemo. Please call your Oncologist and report this. Make sure it is not a heart attack.
  5. icbn

    My Little Ella......

    Ella helps us remember that life is good. She's beautiful, Ann.
  6. While only chemo is used on sclc, I believe other procedures could be available for tumors from mets. But Pet scans show a lot of lesions. The lesion could be the beginning of arthritis, muscle strain, inflammation or a hundred other things. Your Oncologist probably didn't mention it if the SUV values were low, or that the CT portion of the PET/CT scan showed no definable tumor. I have read your other posts. You are in a tough spot. If you have explained to your husband how you feel in a supportive and non-threatening way it is all you can do. He sounds like he is in major denial. That isn't uncommon. At first I was to. Whatever the Oncologist said was good by me. I didn't want to know the ugly truth of this horrid monster. But this monster can only be beaten if we as patients look it square in the eye and spit. Knowledge is king. Look up knowledgeable and mainstream information sources on sclc. Know your enemy. Fight it. Let him know you understand his fears, his pain and can't imagine how he is coping with all the stress. Let him know you are frustrated and worried because you can't help and you want to. Since you can't help , or are not allowed to help by him, maybe the two of you could work with his Oncologists together. Become his cancer partner. Learn with him. But most importantly You need care now also. This is very hard on caregivers. The stress is probably as significant for you as it is for him. His cancer can seriously ruin your health. Get your own professional help to get through this. You are in our prayers.
  7. icbn

    Gamma questions

    Moving fast is good. Radiation oncologist usually proceeds at a faster pace than Chemo Oncs.. Look at it this way, if they didn't think it would help they'd move at a crawl or not at all. Gamma knife has been around awhile and is a proven intervention. Your Mom is in my prayers.
  8. Bald, silver, curly or straight, I think women who are LC Survivors are HOT!
  9. icbn

    FOUR YEARS

    Congratulations Cindi. I am extremely happy for you and wish you continued victory over this thing.
  10. Avastin has produced serious bleeding issues in about 31% who use it in trials. It was foumd mainly in those with Squamus cell carcinomas. Avastin has been FDA approved only for those with non-squamus cell LC. However, I have squamus cell cancer and a very strong dosage on 695 mg of Avastin every other week. My chances of bleeding problems at 31% pale with the 100% chance of dying if something doesn't work. The steroids help in reducing inflammations, swelling and gives a temporary boost in energy. It is a normal step. I get a 20 mg dose IV every week in infusion of chem. Morphine if she is not in pain doesn't make since to me either. She may get very constipated and realize little good from it. If she does, have her tell her oncologist to reconsider. The pleural effusion, fluids around the lung can contain cancer cells. It indicates a spread beyond the primary tumor. However, you will see many survivors on the site whose history in their signature show they have had cancer in the pleural effusion and are still alive.
  11. What!!! LCSC let a spam **Word not allowed** email get through to some members? I didn't get one, so could someone forward it to me? ...Just for educational purposes to make my judgemental, indignant rants more juicy.
  12. Nothing is ever straight forward and simple. A recent study indicates that the use of Celebrex is counter indicated. At least as a second line addition to chemotherapy. The results showed that, "One year survival was 24 percent among patients treated with Celebrex and chemotherapy and 36 percent among patients treated with chemotherapy alone." http://www.thecancerblog.com/2006/10/27 ... herapy-no/
  13. Rotten lung? That sounds Grimm.
  14. I had a port during my first line of chemo. Not now during my second line. It was great for infusion nurses. They are trained to use the port. But not one PET scan tech, regular nurse to draw blood or anyone else outside of surgery and infusion were allowed to tap the port. So I'd sit there with a port in my chest as the tech prodded and probed for a good vein in my hand or arm.
  15. Connie, my comment was made in response to why some may not post in the Survivor Forum. I understand the semantics and the Political Correctness. Two things I dislike. Nonetheless it may still be confusing to some. As far as if I feel I have survived, yes I do. I have survived all those Battles also. A war is a lot longer thing and mine is still in question. Hopefully, you will now know what to say about my well intentioned Survivor comment.
  16. Connie, I've always shied away from this Forum due to the "Survivor". While I know everyday we are alive we are survivors, I still see survivor as someone who has fought the battle and won, versus still fighting the battle. That is why the thread gets mostly post stating that an anniversary has been reached. I agree with your sentiment that we need a thread for those fighting this battle to be able to communicate. I would suggest changing the title of the forum to make it more clear it is for those battling cancer not those who have survived it. Even though that is Politically Incorrect, it may get us talking together.
  17. With help from a couple of members and being pointed to Tarceva's non-insured coverage web site, I am currently on 250 mg of Tarceva daily. Same minor complaints as above plus "Tarceva Fingers". This is like a lot of hang nails or ingrown finger nails at the cuticles. As far as moisturizers, I just let my face get all pimply, dried and cracked. With Halloween coming up, I will not need a mask. Also have Avastin rash on chest and upper abdomen. Pretty soon the Tarceva and Avastin rash will meet and I will either implode or be cured.
  18. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5385726. Lung cancer prognosis can be poor An experimental lung cancer drug has extended patients' life expectancy by more than 50% in preliminary trials. Patients given the drug AS1404 on top of standard chemotherapy lived an average of 14 months compared with 8.8 months if given chemotherapy alone. The phase two study, by UK biotech company Antisoma, looked at 70 patients with non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of the disease. It kills more than 26,000 people in Britain each year. Survival is the gold standard by which cancer drugs are judged, and this news is therefore very exciting Glyn Edwards The drug belongs to a new class of compounds called vascular disrupting agents, which work by cutting off the blood supply to tumours. Solid tumours rely on a network of blood vessels to survive and grow. AS1404 is able to distinguish between blood vessels feeding the tumour and those serving healthy organs. The tumour vessels are more permeable and less well organised than those of healthy tissue. Dr Mark McKeage, from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, who co-led the trial, said: "It is great to see this large survival benefit with AS1404 in lung cancer patients. "This makes me feel very optimistic as we proceed into phase three testing." Glyn Edwards, chief executive officer of Antisoma, said: "Survival is the gold standard by which cancer drugs are judged, and this news is therefore very exciting." AS1404 was developed by scientists in New Zealand but the pharmaceutical company it was initially licensed to did not have the resources to develop it further. The charity Cancer Research UK stepped in to take the drug into early-stage clinical trials. Phase two trials are carried out to see whether the drug or treatment is effective for treating cancer. A phase three trial directly compares the new treatment with standard treatments to see if the new treatment is better.
  19. When you exercise you literally damage your body's muscles and stuff. The body repairs these tears. This process makes you stronger and able to do more exercise. After exercise one should feel a small bit of pleasant fatigue, almost euphoric. This means your body is repairing itself and making you stronger. The exercise is building up your body. If you feel more fatigued than you did before exercise you are working against your body. You are exercising beyond its ability to repair itself. If that is the case rest. When you do exercise take tiny baby steps. Exercise only enough to feel good about it. Don't push a worn out body. It is counter productive to exercise beyond the body's ability to repair the exercise stress. Work with your bidy. Listen to it.
  20. They must be pretty smart, they recommend and link to LCSC.
  21. Does anyone have info on Gemzar as the a SINGLE agent for 2nd line treatment? The VA offered this based on nothing else will work either. They turned down Tarceva (the company is getting back with me this week though) AVASTIN ad Gemzar combo, and turned down Cyberknife removal of the subcarinal lymph nodes tumors. BTW the cancer I have is the type that is the same caused by heavy herbicidal poisoning. The VA has already accepted and decided that the connection to the tons of Agent Orange dumped on me and that the Marines in my unit have 156% more lung cancer smokers and non-smokers is actual and has granted service connection for the lung cancer. So the government that caused it and the government that denied the cancer connection for 20 years and the government that pays a small monthly compensation for killing me, is also the same government that has agreed to treat it. Is there a conflict of interest here somewhere? The only thing I can depend on is that they are from the government and are here to help me. Seriously though, I am curious what clinical studies or personal experience here has been on Gemzar as a single agent for Stage IIIB 2nd line chemo. Thanks.
  22. This link may help: http://www.bms.com/news/press/data/fg_p ... _6232.html Good Luck.
  23. It is always best to catch cancer as early as possible so it doesn't penetrate any adjacent tissues, lymph system or throw Mets. But Two months will probably not make it go from a Stage I to Stage IV. What it will or will not do may never be known. If the original spot is removed and nothing else happens, no harm. If later on there is a spread to adjacent structures or lymph nodes etc, then the original tumor did send out cancerous cells. Even if cleanly removed I'd recommend seeking opinions on adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation that might kill any yet undetectable cancerous tissue traveling in your Dad's body. Be careful on 2nd opinions on this. Some Oncs believe in it, some scoff at it. The scoffers say, its only a 5% increase in survival. Stage IIIA realizes a 35% with adjuvant versus 30% survival rate. A 5 point change in percentages at 30 to 35% is actually a 16.7% increase in survival. Duke has a new test to see who will definitively benefit from post operative adjuvant treatment. Even without the test the overall population realizes about a 17% increase in survival with post adjuvant therapy. I had a area light up on a 3/31/06 PET scan. The Radiologist didn't catch it. A 7/6/06 CT Scan radiologist did not detect it. A 7/12/06 PET Scan showed an approximately 2 cm spot light up with a SUV of 7.8. General question. Aren't these guys paid over $300,000 per year to be accurate? What gives when they keep missing this stuff? What should our response be?
  24. Maybe. I'll know next week from the Tarceva people.
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