Bill Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 My wife's CT scan results delivered her grim news. Verbatim read > " Diffuse increase in size and number of EXTREMELY NUMEROUS ( ~ 200 ) Multiple Bilateral Pulmonary Nodules and slight increase in size of left subapical soft tissue mass ( primary tumor ) consistent with progression of metastatic neoplastic disease. Left AP window lympjadenopathy subjacent to the left subapical soft tissue mass ". I spoke with the rad onc Saturday. He stated that the tumor spread is too extensive to perform any radiation. Ditto the neurosurgeon. They say it's chemo or nothing. I phone the med onc Monday morning and speak my mind. He completely blew this lung tumor progression. Amateurish mistake by incorrectly assuming that she and her lungs were doing fine because she had no lung symptoms. Obviously, no more Gemzar / carbo if I have anything to say about it. I'm familiar with Iressa / Tarceva tx and results. But, what about Taxol and Taxotere and any other readily available alternate drugs. ? Anybody switch to one of these and have success ? IMO my wife certainly won't be asymptomatic in her lungs for much longer if this situation isn't reversed. On top of this lung tumor invasion, she also has tumor progression in her L-spine. Her brain is slightly improved and the other cancerous areas in her body look to be essentially unchanged compared against previous Aug & Sept '04 scans. Thanks for any input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anais Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 You should ask the onc. about Navelbine chemo drug. My mother had a similar diagnosis and it reduced the tumors sizes for a while. Anaïs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Wood Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Bill, so sorry your wife is going through this. Lucie has had taxotere/carboplatin, which worked well for her. Then she was put on Iressa and that induced pneumonia. She then went on Navelbine, which seems to have done a fairly good job. She will probably go on Alimta in a few weeks. Best to you both. I hope you find something that works. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAnn Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Bill, I'm so sorry to hear of your wife's progression. If she was on Gemzar/Carbo and had progression I'm sure the docs would not put her back on that. I had Taxol/Carboplatin and had no shrinkage and I had Taxotere and had 31% shrinkage, however as soon as I stopped Taxotere, I had growth. I was put on Iressa in May, 04 and have remained stable. In Jan. I started Tarceva and will find out how I'm doing on Feb. 2nd. Iressa and Tarceva are much easier to tolerate and I've had MUCH better success with it. TAnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Lamb Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Bill, I'm sorry to hear of the progression of the disease.I hope they can very soon find a responsive treatment that works. I was very fortunate as carbo/taxol has kept me stable for a year now after radiation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoBennett Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Sorry to hear that type of news. You asked about results from Taxol, I had some luck with the Taxol. And I also had no luck with Carbo/Gemzar. Upon starting Taxol I noticed immediately a change in what and how much I coughed up and I took this change as positive and in fact new scans were encouraging. My daughter, an RN who spent a few years on an oncology ward commented when I started Taxol that “they are bringing the big guns out“. It is definitely hard to understand how and what type of treatments are determined. I’m also thinking about Traveca or Irrisa. What works for some? Bo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindi o'h Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Hi Bill, I am so sorry about the growth. I was asking my oncologist last week, WHY? Why did my treatment work for me and not for others? His response was that he did not know. I sure wish that they did, it would make this all so much easier. I had carbo/taxol with radiation for a total of 8 infusions. One adjuvant cycle of taxol/carboplatin that knocked me down pretty hard and then switched to taxotere that wasn't quite so harsh for another 3 or 4 cycles...I don't remember exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Hi, Bill, sorry for your new complications. Jim had Taxotere as a second line drug and it worked for about 3 months or more, shrinkage but not erased. Then it started coming back. Jim had Carbo/Taxol as a fourth line drug and it didn't help him but it might have been too far along by then. Best wishes, Margaret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 It's funny how one drug does the trick for some and not for others. For John he had good results with the carbo/taxol then went to Taxotere which did nothing, then to Gemzar which worked very well. Go figure. Let us know what you go with. I wish her well. Rochelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay A. Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 Bill, I am so sorry to hear this news. Please find a copy of the Winter 2004, Vol.3, No.4 issue of "Cure". There is an article on page 52 titled "Saving the Spine" by Melissa Weber. You may want to look into Velcade. I was on 6 cycles of Taxotere and Carboplatin as followup to my pneumonectomy in 2003. After completing the 6 cycles my CT/PET scans showed recurrence at the subcarina and bronchial stump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 24, 2005 Author Share Posted January 24, 2005 Much thanks to all for the replies. All of what you have stated will be considered by me ( us ). No easy way to approach the med onc about this. Happy talk time is over. I see that " recurrence " theme raising it's ugly head again. Because my wife's updated CT scan of HER CHEST was delayed ( a full 5 months vs. the usual 3 month interval ) it now makes me wonder if there was enough elapsed time for her condition to initially improve then worsen. The speed of these recurrences is very scary. Also, I'm now wondering about that Procrit inducing cancer study that I iniitally disregarded. What an unsettling mess ! A real confidence buster. The wife is emotionally defeated and comments that Gemzar left her with a painfully bad case of radiation recall but not much else. I may have posted this once in the past but it's worth a repeat. I asked my wife's neurosurgeon after her L-spine surgeries ( tumor resection ) for his opinion as to the ~ elapsed time for the metastatic process to have occurred. He stunned me by saying ~ 3 months. Another surgeon speculated that it was ~ a 6 month process. A very rapid process in either case. If these guys opinions are accurate it's no wonder that catching cancer before it metastasizes is so difficult. Looks like I lean all over everybody to take action starting tomorrow. This includes pressuring her rad onc and neurosurgeon to pressure her med onc into action. Thanks again to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stand4hope Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 Bill, I am also sorry to hear this news. Five months is too long between scans. I'm sure you are upset and discouraged, but try to hang in there. Also, try to be calm when you talk to the onc. Get some answers and say what you've got to say, but remember, your wife may still need him/her at a later time. Prayers for your wife! Love, Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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