need your input

[Willw99]

Diana and I saw the oncologist yesterday. She offered Di 4 options:

1. Do Nothing

2. Medication to relieve pain

3.A combination of carboplation and paclitaxel starting in August after she does 10 radiation treatments starting June 14th.

4.Participation in a clinical trial involving the above with experimental drug AZD2171

Does anyone have any experience with any of these options and the outcomes?

I mentioned in my previous post that my darling wife for 36 yars has been diagnosed at stage 4 NSCLC with a tumor on the adrenal gland.

I need your input to help her make a decision.

[ztweb]

I have no advice for you, but wanted you to know that I am here praying for you. You will get someone to respond here, to give you something to think about, I am sure.

Blessings,

Jen

[Ry]

Many Stage 4 patients have done well following treatment, so I would not choose either 1 or 2. A second opinion is a good idea. Let us know what you decide to do.

[SherryNeedsToLaugh]

Will,

Options 1 I would say no to. I am a fighter that will never give up. So that is why I would say no. I am waiting on the cure....hehe. I have been doing chemo for a year now. It along with radiation has shrunk the junk. I do have bad days don't get me wrong but it is my opinion that my life is worth saving.

What does your wife want to do? Is she afraid of the chemo? Is her health good enough to do chemo? Is she in alot of pain? You don't have to rush into anything right this minute so take some time to figure out what is best for her. You may need a second opinion from another onc. Ask her what concerns she has and maybe we can answer any questions she has. It is hard to make decisions so soon after hearing the news as you are still in shock. Let us know how to help. I am sure you have lots of questions, just know that we wont think any of them stupid so ask away.

Sherry

[ernrol]

Will,

I think the second opinion would be a good idea. I had Carboplatin and Taxol with good results. I think Fighting Cancer by H. R. Bloch is a good guide to fighting cancer. I have found a good link to go to that should help any new cancer patient with their battle.

Here is a web address that will take you to a letter written by R. A. Bloch. He was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and told that he had three months to live. He chose to fight for his life and was declared cancer-free two years later. 26 years later he died in of heart failure, not cancer.

http://www.blochcancer.org/articles/letter.html

From this web site you can get a free copy of Fighting Cancer and get a list of places to get good second opinions. I think this book is a must for anyone interested in beating this disease. It may help a caregiver to know, but unless the patient gets involved in his or her's cure it will do little good.

Stay positive,

Ernie

[Kasey]

I echo the second opinion voiced by the others. I actually had 4 of them. I'm not sure why you've even been offered the 'do nothing' option. That would be out for sure were it me. I'd ask about Avastin, Alimta, Tarceva and other options that may be available. I know Canada sometimes doesn't offer all that may be available here. Maybe go to the National Institutes of Health website...... NIH.com and call the # given. They often have options available and, if accepted, anywhere in the world, tx is given at no charge. It is a treasure ~ for sure. Please don't stop the bus before you've exhausted all available options.

Kasey

Kasey

[RandyW]

Clinical trial link Click here

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/search;jse ... mit=Search

A brief info on this Trial drug

AZD2171 (RECENTIN TM )

VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, tumor angiogenesis evaluation.

AZD2171 is a highly potent and selective VEGF signalling inhibitor that inhibits all three VEGF receptors and is suitable for once daily oral dosing. It is being evaluated to determine its effect as a VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor and its potential to impact tumor angiogenesis.

In vitro: AZD2171 is a highly potent inhibitor of recombinant VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase activity. [1] AZD2171 demonstrated >800 to 5000-fold selectivity for VEGFR-2 inhibition, compared with a range of tyrosine and serine/threonine kinases.16. [1]

In vivo: the effect of AZD2171 on primary tumor growth, metastases, and microvessel density has been studied in an orthotopic murine renal-cell carcinoma model [2] Impact on tumor growth has been evaluated in athymic mice with established human tumor xenografts of diverse histologic origin (colon, lung, prostate, breast, ovarian). [1,3,4]

Ongoing clinical trials: There are a number of clinical trials (Phase I, Phase II/III) ongoing and planned to evaluate the role of AZD2171 in a range of solid tumors. [5]

[nikk67]

Hi Will,

I dont know anything about the trial drug but Randy seems to have provided some good info.

Not sure if your wife's health is good otherwise but I would choose fight!

I did carbo and taxol the 2 chemo drugs that are part of option 3 and while not easy it did shrink the tumours! I am now preparing to go for radiation to try to shrink what is left.

While it is nice to have all your options presented what did the onc suggest??

Good luck!!!

[dadstimeon]

I'm Stage IV and I'm a firm believer of doing something and being pro-active. One never knows until one tries. Go and get a second opinion or as many as you need. Take the bull by the horns--research as much as you can so you can make informed decisions.

[missyk]

I, too, echo the sentiment of second opinions (or third or fourth) and am curious what your wife's opinion is on it all.

Mom was determined to DO something about her cancer and went with first-line carbo/taxol for chemo...and did very well on it.

Best of luck in your decision-making process and with your wife's treatment (whatever she chooses)! You're both in my prayers!

[tiredmom959]

My opinion would be to get a second or third one, and definitely dismiss Nos. 1 and 2.

My mother was given a pretty grim diagnosis by her first doctor. He never gave us a "you have this long" statement, but he kind of insinuated (at least in my memory) that to do nothing probably meant a few months of decent quality of life, a few months of not-so-decent, and that was about it.

You can see her history in my profile ... she considered doing nothing, I think out of fear and hopelessness. But thank GOD she didn't. Not only were her treatments fairly easy on her, her quality of life during all of them was very minimally reduced. I mean, the woman would take chemo, they'd unhook her port, and she'd be off to lunch and shopping. And she's 75 years old.

You never know how your wife will react to treatment, whatever treatment it is you decide upon. At least try some options to see her response to them, you can always change your treatment path if they are not working for her/reducing her quality of life.

Good, not Great Luck to you.