Need to know more about Tarceva and Avastin

[curriea]

Hello!

It has been awhile since I communicated with you all at LCSC. Craig, my husband, has Stage IV NSCLC whihc has not been very responsive to the two standard regimens of chemotherapy he received: 1) carboplatin and Taxol and then 2) Taxotere. He primary tumor is really huge and it encircles the junction where the trachea and bronchial tubes meet. So it was inoperable and was crushing his right bronchial tube. The radiation treatments he received apparently did some good, as the pressure on the right bronchial tube eased somewhat and his breathing was better for a while.

But he had two bouts of post-obstructive pneumonia, one during treatment with Taxotere, so his oncologist decided to try and replicate the Vanderbilt protocol of Tarceva and Avastin combined. Craig began that on 29 June.

I would appreciate it if those of you out there that have been on either of these medications would tell me about your experiences. Craig got the "rash from hell" that was predicted and has some gastrointestinal discomfort ("bowels in an uproar" is how he describes it), but no real diarrhea. How long does the rash last? Has anyone found anything that helps with alleviating it or helping it to heal? I have been putting neosporin on his face and head, which seems to have helped the lesions to dry up and heal somewhat. And fewer of the "new" lesions are coming out now.

The only other symptom Craig has had is extreme weakness/tiredness, but he had a URI just after he started the regimen, so we aren't sure if that infection caused this weakness, or if it is from one of these medications, or is this is from disease progression. Have any of you experienced such weakness/tiredness while taking either Tarceva or Avastin?

Thanks so much for your help.

[Connie B]

I just wanted to share with you that if you scoll down each page in the General Forum, you will find TON'S of information about Tarceva & Avastin.

This has been talked about a LOT and you'll find lots of good helpful hints in many of the posts.

Best wishes to you and your husband.

[kamataca]

Sounds like quite a journey for you.

My mom is on Tarceva only (since March), and it has been great for her. Her face broke out quite a bit at first, but even that isn't a problem for her anymore. She did have bowel problems as well, and she ended up dehydrated (she also has an illeostomy, so she dehydrates easily) and hospitalized. She hasn't had another occurrance since then, so we aren't sure if it was a bug or the Tarceva that caused her problems. At that time she went back on it every-other day, but is now back on it daily, with no further problems (fingers crossed).

We are thrilled with it, because she can just take it at home, and her tumors have not increased in size since she has been on it. I know everyone responds differently, but so far so good on Tarceva for us.

Best wishes to you!

Kelly

[Bill]

Hello!

It has been awhile since I communicated with you all at LCSC. Craig, my husband, has Stage IV NSCLC whihc has not been very responsive to the two standard regimens of chemotherapy he received: 1) carboplatin and Taxol and then 2) Taxotere. He primary tumor is really huge and it encircles the junction where the trachea and bronchial tubes meet. So it was inoperable and was crushing his right bronchial tube. The radiation treatments he received apparently did some good, as the pressure on the right bronchial tube eased somewhat and his breathing was better for a while.

But he had two bouts of post-obstructive pneumonia, one during treatment with Taxotere, so his oncologist decided to try and replicate the Vanderbilt protocol of Tarceva and Avastin combined. Craig began that on 29 June.

I would appreciate it if those of you out there that have been on either of these medications would tell me about your experiences. Craig got the "rash from hell" that was predicted and has some gastrointestinal discomfort ("bowels in an uproar" is how he describes it), but no real diarrhea. How long does the rash last? Has anyone found anything that helps with alleviating it or helping it to heal? I have been putting neosporin on his face and head, which seems to have helped the lesions to dry up and heal somewhat. And fewer of the "new" lesions are coming out now.

The only other symptom Craig has had is extreme weakness/tiredness, but he had a URI just after he started the regimen, so we aren't sure if that infection caused this weakness, or if it is from one of these medications, or is this is from disease progression. Have any of you experienced such weakness/tiredness while taking either Tarceva or Avastin?

Thanks so much for your help.

Amanda :

My wife is currently receiving this combination. She has been on Tarceva since 3/3/05. If you're interested in her response to the drug you can do a search of my posts for updates. The Avastin was just added so I have no feedback to offer on that.

Good luck.