Guest Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 First, I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. It has meant so much to me. Since radiation and Carobplatin/Taxol had no effect on Dad's cancer, the doctor began chemo treatment with Navelbine today. Does anyone have any experience, advice, success, etc. with this drug? I'm praying this will work for him. As always, I appreciate any advice out there. Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlon Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Hi Amy, My mom also started with Carbo/Taxol, and it had no effect except to make her extremely weak, and lose her hair. Then they switched her to Gemzar/Navelbine. And it seems to have worked because all signs show she is in remission. With the navelbine, all it is is a shot in the arm with a needle, instead of a dripping IV bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Marlon, That is wonderful! I will continue to pray that your mom stays in remission. This gives me hope too (which is what I really need right now!) Just curious, what stage was she when they began the Navelbine treatment? Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karma1976 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 hmm does carbo/taxol usually work well??? or do most people switch from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlon Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Hi Amy, From the beginning she was a IIIB because of the malignant pleural effusion. To tell you the truth, the first oncologist wasn't too helpful with staging but called it a Stage IIIB "if we assume it as lung carcinoma". This clown couldnt even distinguish what kind of cancer she had! No tumor was found. Her first regimen was the carbo/taxol. After only 2 treatments with this regimen, the oncologist switched her to Gemzar/Navelbine. She fluctuated between IIIB and IV because during her treatment, she had another mass form on her left lung even after the antibiotics. With this mass, a small pleural effusion also began on her left lung. We switched her to Block Center and they put her on the same Gemzar/Navelbine regimen, but with tons of additional healing support via herbs, supplements and diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karma1976 Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 what kind of herbs, suppliments and diet did they suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlon Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Hi K, This is how my mom's diet goes. To be completely honest, she doesn't follow it to the tee, but it has helped her tremendously nonetheless. Please, bear in mind they determined this thru rigourous blood and physical tests, and this is my mom's individual regimen. She is 50, has always been relatively thin, but since she started this new protocol, her weight has stabilized around 116 lbs. These are the recommended DAILY servings for my mom, straight from her workbook. Grains: 8-10 Vegetables: 6+ Protein: 4-5 Fat: 2-2.5 Fruit: 2 I can only name a few ingredients from the supplements themselves because they each have like 30 ingredients each. Plus, it is extremely dangerous to self-treat yourself with supplements as they too can be toxic if you don't know what you're doing. I'd hate for people to get worse as a result of my advice. This is what my mom takes: 1) Opti-Cell Plus: some vitamins, but mostly phytochemicals like milk thistle, green tea extract, eg., all the stuff you read about in books like Beating Cancer with Nutrition by Patrick Qullin. 2) Nutri-Essentials Plus: Vegetarian capsules basically. The idea here is that the standard American Diet(SAD) is lacking in what we need to live long healthy lives. This is a way to get them without eating bad foods. 3) Arctic Essentials: Omega-3 softgels. Because of the way Omega3 breaks down, it is a healthier fat that travels straight to the bloodstream instead of going thru the lymphatic system which is how cancer commonly spreads. 4) Turbo Greens: a yucky green drink. It has cruciferous vegetables, wheatgrass, oatgrass, chorella, etc. 5) Rebuild II: a weight gainer shake that yields about 700 calories, but is healthier than Ensure(not to bash them or anything). 6) Curcumin aka Turmeric: anti-angiogenic substance. They gave this to my mom because her blood tests were showing inflammatory processes were occuring in her body. When I have time, I think sooner or later I'll make a PDF of the diet program and send it to people. I just hope I don't get in trouble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karma1976 Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 haha in trouble darn that board scarred us. thank you marlon. Just curious, i know all things shoudl be checked with the dr's first. just always nice to hear about things that may help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2003 Share Posted March 16, 2003 Marlon/Amy My husband had a reaction to the Carbo and then the Taxotere. They are talking about Gemzar or Navelbine. I read on NCI that 2 are better than one. Any opinions about this would be greatly appreciated as he is suppose to start something new on Tues. Did your Mom have her surgery, Marlon? Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlon Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 Hi Karen, Besides being one of the less debilitating drugs for chemo, Gemzar is good for many different types of cancers. Not only did my mom get a good response from Gemzar/Navelbine, she did indeed have her surgery Tuesday the 11th and it was successful. The lung re-expanded 100%. I am the happiest guy in the world right now. She is recuperating now in the hospital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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