LisaK

My husband has just begun VP-16 treatments. They said he would have it 1xday for 2 weeks and then have a CT scan. Any hints on what to expect with this treatment? I have noticed that some of you had this drug in combination with Cisplatin. I have heard of this drug, but I can't remember if he has used it or not. His doctor told us this is the last drug. If it doesn't work, he can't do anything else for us. Where to go from here? He is going to cancer center here, and has been to MD Anderson. I am not ready to give up, and neither is he.

Hello. I am glad I found this site. I really need some answers. My husband was diagnosed with NSCLC 18 months ago. We have been through 8 different drugs with relatively no side effects and no action toward reducing the cancer. In August, he started taking Gemzar and boy did the side effects hit. He would get the chemo on Wed. and by Fri., he was down. Very short of breath, fever, chills, etc., but by Sunday-Monday, he was rolling again. He had 6 treatments (1xweek) and landed in the hospital. He couldn't get breath. O2 was at 67% and his heart was A Fib. Got the heart back regulated, and got the O2 normal enough he could go home. Said he had fluid around his lungs....used Lasix for 2 weeks and they sent him home. He was home 1 day and back to the hospital we go. Swollen ankles etc. He is now in the care of his oncologist who has a "plan". He wants him to lose 8# (supposedly fluid) and then he thinks they can start backing off the O2. We think this whole situation was caused by the Gemzar. I found on the internet that Gemzar causes fluid to build, which in turn causes A fib of the heart. Then, we find out that the Gemzar may have started shrinking the tumor!! Do we stay on the same drug? Why is the fluid building if the cancer is shrinking? Nothing has been affected by the cancer except his lungs and some lymph nodes in his chest. I see where some of you have had surgery to remove the tumor. The surgeons around here won't remove Jay's tumor (Lower right lobe) b/c they say if they can't get it all, they won't consider surgery. We have 3 small children, we each own our own businesses. He's not working, I haven't been working b/c I've tried to be with him as much as possible. I feel like I'm neglecting him if I'm here with the children, and I'm neglecting the children if I'm with him. My mother keeps telling me not to make the trip everyday to see him (he's an hour and a half away from home) She doesn't seem to realize that our time together may be limited and I want to spend as much time with him now while he's able to talk to me and laugh as possible. I'm so confused. Is it possible to come out of this? Where is the fluid coming from? Why is it just now starting to become a problem when the cancer is shrinking? Would the cancer have spread, even though the tumor itself is shrinking? No one here can seem to answer any of my questions. Hope someone out there may shed some light. Thank you for listening, and God bless. LisaK