debbie412 Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 my mom is on "a break" from chemo. She has a little swelling on her shoulder and under her arm. her dr. thinks it may be something close to a nerve or blocking a blood vessel. he is sending her for another scan and if anything it will be a maintenance chemo that will not make her feel to bad. Does anyone know of anything that would work best . i am a wreck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jonathan2 Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Well, I cannot say for sure what will work best, however if you tell me the drugs that she has had already, I can tell you some questions to ask the oncologist and give you list of drugs that have been used to fight SCLC, and have been very effective in doing so. Jonathan te11t@aol.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbie412 Posted July 1, 2003 Author Share Posted July 1, 2003 She has had 8 cycles of Cis-platin and 5 weeks of radiation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy RN Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 The Cisplatin has neuropathy as a big side-effect. Is she only getting the cisplatin 1 time per month. No other chemo agent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jonathan Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Hi Debbie, Are you sure that she was only getting cisplatin and not cisplatin and another drug called etoposide? Anyway, the standard first line therpay for SCLC is cisplatin and etoposide. Etoposide is also called (VP-16). If she has alrerady had these two agents, then there are still plenty of other agents that she can benefit from. First off, however, I want to say that 8 cycles of cisplatin whether it be with or without etoposide is a lot, seeing as with most patients, 6 is the most that is recommended due to the neuropathy, cumulative toxicity, and the limited effectiveness of the drug. However, if the drug was still shrinking your mom's tumor, then the oncologist may have opted to keep her on it longer so that she could get the maximum benefit from it. Any way, it my assumption thatvthe oncologist will shift to a new regimen if the cancer has indeed returned. The other drugs that can be considered are... taxol (paclitaxol) CPT-11 (camptosar) topotecan Cytoxin/adriamycin/vincristine gemzar (gemcitibine) If I were you, I would make sure that asked the oncologist about putting her on a combination of two drugs, because most research has shown that with SCLC, a combination of two drugs is the most effective way to treat it aggrssively, unless the oncologist feels that vthere other reasons she really should not have combination chemotherapy- lioke too old, too frail, too sick right now, etc...etc... Let us know what is happening....keep in contact....there is plenty more that can be done for this monster!! Sincerely, Jonathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbie412 Posted July 1, 2003 Author Share Posted July 1, 2003 thank you so much for all of your help. she was on cis-platin and etoposide for 8 sessions because it was still working and she tolerated it very well. after, she had a pet that showed there was still activity on the lung and a little activity in the thoracic area, but no tumor in the thoracic area. the adrenal was clear. her dr then sent her for 5 weeks of radiation since adrenal was clear. after radiation her pet still showed activity on the lung and thoracic. in june he told her to take a break for 2 months because she felt so good and he did not want to overdose her with toxins. this is where we are now. sorry i didnt elaborate earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbie412 Posted July 1, 2003 Author Share Posted July 1, 2003 i just want to add that she was dx with extensive sclc with mets to adrenal. A biopsy was never done on the adrenal. her first dr used an "Educated Assumption" that this was a mets. After all of her chemo she had a PET that showed there is a mass on the adrenal but it was not cancerous. why dont they do pets right from the beginning and why dont they biopsy every lesion instead of using "educated assumptions" if i knew what i know now she might have went into remission! he gave her radiation by itself after her first pet, which was too late. again thank you for all of your help. i am going to ask about those chemo's. do you recommend any over the others for a second round? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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