Yorktown Linda Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 I'll be starting all 3 next week so I would appreciate any experience you have with these drugs. I saw my oncologist yesterday. He said that the tumor they removed in April was morphologically different from the one removed last year. It appears to be a different primary tumor. Lucky old me! The pathology report says that it is a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with extensive lymphovascular invasion. So it’s basically a more aggressive tumor than last year’s. There was no lymph node involvement seen on the CAT or Pet scans. Because I had just a wedge resection, no lymph nodes were removed and biopsied. The oncologist at Sloan-Kettering, Dr. Miller, recommends a wait-and-see policy basically because there is no evidence that chemotherapy helps in cases like mine. He is not against chemo and says most oncologists would recommend it, even naming the three drugs he would use if he did decide to do chemo. My oncologist in Westchester says that there are no studies showing what works (or doesn’t) in cases like mine ‘cause my case is fairly unique and there really are no studies at all. Had there been demonstrated lymph node involvement or had the tumor not been a candidate for surgical removal, there would be no question but to do chemo. He is more comfortable doing chemo just in case. He is going with the 3 drugs recommended by Dr. Miller at MSKCC – alimta, avastin, and paraplatin. Interesting -- I asked Dr. West at cancergrace.org how he would stage my cancer as I had 2 resectable tumors in left lobes plus scattered precancerous lesions throughout. He said stage 4 as the cancer was in both lungss. I asked my oncologist yesterday and he first said that staging doesn't make sense in my case, then said that the precancerous lesions don't really count (anybody could have them) and the two tumors removed were both stage 1A so if pressed, he'd say stage 1. Very confusing! Anyway, he says my prognosis is good, so on we go, Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patti B Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Hi Linda- Well, they said your prognosis is good so Congrats to you!!! It is interesting how two docs staged you so totally different, tno, isn't it?? I had been on Avastin and am currently on Alimta so can tell you about both of those. Avastin is a cake-walk for most people. No hair loss, not a lot of side effects other than it can increase your blood pressure so make sure if you start getting bad headaches that you have that checked out. It can easily be corrected with medication. Alimta on the other hand can be a little bit harder. Some people have talked about having to take breaks from it but I have been on it since October and altho I have side effects, I would not consider it bad enough to stop it or take a break. There is no hair loss with Alimta, and the infusion is only about 10 - 15 minutes long after your pre-meds. The biggest side effects are fatigue and shortness of breath. My fatigue seems to come and go in spurts, but the SOB is pretty much all the time affecting me most when doing steps or walking for a long period, like around the mall. Might want to ask your doc for an inhaler because that really does help me a lot. Recently, my feet started swelling really bad and they are telling me that Alimta can cause swelling in the hands and feet. Have no information for you on the third medication. Hope this combination works its magic on you. Good luck and please keep us posted. Hugs - Patti B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraL Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 On you go is a great attitude. I hope this all works out for you. Take care Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerri Gottlieb Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Linda, that is so strange about the different staging diagnosis from different docs. We were told by the docs at Sloane Kettering that once it is in both lungs its considered stage IV. Mom's oncologist there is Dr. Krug. Mom's doing great on the Alimta, just a little fatigue now and then. But compared to the 5 hour ordeal of the Taxol and Carboplatin. They made her lose her hair and have nausea, fever, etc. But even they weren't as bad as we were expecting. The Alimta along with the radiation she had in January have worked so well she has no more tumors in either lung, even though one was pretty big. The few small tumors in liver have also been zapped except one, but it has gotten smaller. They will keep her on the Alimta every 3 weeks for as long as it keeps working. It's great news and we are all thrilled. Her Dr said that when Alimta works for people, it works extremely well. So I'll keep my fingers crossed. Good luck and keep us updated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorktown Linda Posted June 20, 2008 Author Share Posted June 20, 2008 Kerri, Glad your mom is doing so well on the alimta. Gives me hope. I had a bad reaction to the first chemo on 5/28 -- elevated liver enzymes, fevers, severe hypotension. No one is really sure why. Had 2nd round on 6/14 and so far no side effects at all! Will continue every 2 weeks until next CT scan and then we'll see. Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patti B Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Hi Kerri- Great seeing you again. I was so thrilled when your mom PM'd me last night to say that you are both back on the site and how GREAT she is doing. I hear you had a lot to do with that with all the TLC you have been giving her. Alimta is helping me, too - I just had my 13th cycle of it and still STABLE!!!! Hugs - Patti B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerri Gottlieb Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 "Patti B"]Hi Kerri-Great seeing you again. I was so thrilled when your mom PM'd me last night to say that you are both back on the site and how GREAT she is doing. I hear you had a lot to do with that with all the TLC you have been giving her. Alimta is helping me, too - I just had my 13th cycle of it and still STABLE!!!! Hugs - Patti B. Patti: That's fantastic!!!! Great news!! It's good to be back. I actually have to thank my husband who has been so supportive and amazing. I know he cannot wait to have me back at home full time. Not to mention working again. But he knew I needed to do this. I'm setting up interviews and sending out resumes, so I'll be working again soon. The only thing that still bothers Mom is the post herpetic neuralgia from the Shingles. It flared up this week so she had to up her pain patch. Other than that she's phenomenal. Oh and Linda, glad to hear you're feeling well after your treatment. You are both in my prayers. Love, Kerri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.