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Avastin Questions


hollyanne

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Hi -

My mom's doc is looking at adding Avastin to her mix starting next week. I understand the theory behind it...yet, I am curious to hear about anyone's experience with it. They are going to do a brain MRI beforehand as a precaution since bleeding/stroke can be a serious side effect.

Other question, my mom has no symptoms of mets to the brain, but she has never had a brain MRI before, so of course I am worried about that...are symptoms typically evident if there are mets in to brain?

Hugs to all. Happy Turkey Day.

Holly

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Holly,

The combination that Charlie is on now, which includes Avastin, has stabilized him after progression from most of the other treatments he's had. It in combination with other chemos can do miraculous things.

There are risks, though. There is an increased risk of bleeding, which could be fatal. In Charlie's case, he wants to do anything/everything he can to prolong his survival and didn't even hesitate at signing up for it.

As far as brain mets go, I don't have any direct knowledge. Most people seem to have symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, paralysis, etc. Have a happy Turkey Day! Praying for your mom's results. Take care.

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I've read and heard great things about the effectiveness of Avastin when added to other treatments. If my Tarceva starts slacking off in the effectiveness department, my onc's next step would be to add Avastin.

Maybe you'll get more responses from people who've experienced brain mets if this post is brought back up to the top. I had a head MRI early on as a "check in the box" kind of thing. I had no symptoms and onc didn't expect to see any mets in my brain. There weren't any. I think most people who have them, do have some kind of symptoms first.

Leslie

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Hi -

I know there was a thread on this earlier in the summer... yet I wanted to check with a lot of you who have emailed me back and may be on Avastin now---How did you get Avastin approved through insurance? If you were able to.... If you used the Genetech SPOC program, how long did it take, etc?

Thanks a lot! I will keep everyone posted on what I find out.

Holly

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My husband had 4 infusions of Avastin while also taking Tarceva. Unfortunately, it did not work, however, in his case none of the drugs and chemos he has been on have worked. We were going to apply to the SPOC program to pay for the Avastin, but we just found out that Medicare has changed their policy and will now pay for Avastin for use in LC. I do not know if private insurance companies will cover it, but I think once Medicare approves it it opens the door.

Karen H

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