Bill Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 I have a question re: the ability of these drugs to delay progression of the disease. IMO the initial improvement that one may see with Tarceva or Iressa is great. It helps defuse any imminent medical threat and it stablizes the condition. BUT, what I want to hear from any and all Tarceva and Iressa responders is input as to how long your disease has been held stable, with no evidence ( scans, etc. ) of progression. Thanks much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Becky was stable on Iressa for basically the second half of 2003. It was in June or so that she started it, and it was late December before there was any change. Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Ry Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Bill, I was on Iressa from 3/03 until 2/05. All my scans so far have shown no progression. During the first 3 months I had some shrinkage. I am now currently on 150mg of Tarceva. My last CAT scan was 2/17/05. Still stable. My Onc said the reason he suggested going to Tarceva from Iressa was if Iressa worked well for me, Tarceva should be even better. Good luck with Tarceva. I hope it keeps working for your wife. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAnn Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 I was on Iressa from 5/04 - 12/04 and then switched to Tarceva in 1/05 with no break. My doctor switched me for the same reasons as John. My first ct scan after a month of Tarceva was still stable. TAnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrea Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 My office manager;'s brother in law was stable for two years on it. Edited to say he still is stable, I meant it has been 2 years so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy P Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 My Mom has been on Iressa since last May and has had considerable shrinkage in the lymph nodes while her primary tumor in her lung has remainded stable. Doc said if it isn't broke don't fix it and gave her another 3 month rx for Iressa. Might also note that she has been on a half dose (75mg) since late Sept. Hope Tarceva does the trick for your wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stand4hope Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Bill, My husband has been on Iressa since June 2004 (8+ months) and until now has been stable. Today we got reports of some minor increase in 2 brain lesions and his pericardial effusion. We don't know yet if that means Iressa has stopped working and probably won't know for sure until the next set of scans are done. Even with this, he still feels really good. Love, Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stand4hope Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Oh, and by the way, Bill. This was a very good question. I have searched the internet until my fingers hurt trying to find out the answer to this same question. I have tried to get stats on a larger scale than the info we get from our friends here. I haven't been able to find ANYTHING. I think these drugs just haven't been out there long enough for articles to be written on how long Iressa or Tarceva are keeping people stable. Thank God we have this site to collect information like this. Anyway, good question, and thanks for posting it. Love, Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jana_W Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Thanks everyone for the information on this post. Mum is due to start Tarceva in a few weeks hopefully so reading all this success storied really lifted my spirits. It seems that she is only able to get it if she has stable brain mets., so she will have to have a scan first to hopefully confirm that is the case. I would be interested to know if this is the same for the USA? Cheers Jana xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jana_W Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Oopps. Posted twice, sorry, so deleted this one. Jana x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stand4hope Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Jana, I can't answer that one because my husband's brain mets were stable at the time he started Iressa, so I don't know if they would have done it if they hadn't been stable. Wish I could help. Love, Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJAS Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Steve has been on Iressa since July '04 and had good shrinkage. His doctor said he had more tumor than liver before and now the biggest thing in the liver is maybe an inch long (as of scans 3 mos. ago - will have new results next week). We had a meeting with some lung cancer patients and families Friday night about getting a group together. Two people there have been on Iressa for three years. One just got results of a new met in the chest and one in brain. The other just got a completely clear scan. I also got an e-mail from someone recently who is stable in his fifth year on Iressa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karenl Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 I just want to respond to Jana's post in case it gets anyone in the US worried about their eligibility for Tarceva. Tarceva is not currently approved in Australia for NSCLC, so her Onc has requested it under a 'special access scheme', which has certain conditions, one of which is stable brain mets for a period of two months. Once the drug has been approved, as in the US, these conditions should no longer apply. At least that is my understanding of the situation. Hopefully Tarceva will be approved here very soon anyway, but we are a bit anxious that Mum has to wait for treatment. She has now been off treatment (apart from the WBR) since early January. Anyway, all the best. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karenl Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Hi All Just want to clarify the above (for any aussies that might be perusing the board!). I wrote to the TGA, which is our equivalent of the FDA, and this is the response I received: "Tarceva is not entered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, which means that it is not available for supply on the Australian market". I think that Mum and Dad misunderstood their Onc, and that he is actually starting Mum on Iressa, which IS available here. I believe the Onc told them that he was hopeful that approval for Tarceva was not far off, perhaps in the next couple of months. Sorry if my last post was misleading to anyone. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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