johnny_cubert Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Today was the day that we were to go over what the next stage of my mother's treatment was to be. We discovered the avastin treatments have been canceled, and our doctor at a loss for words, suggested perhaps Pemetrexed Disodium - Alimta. Her cancer has grown -- now her liver has much more damage, and on her bones the spots are larger, and the spine has larger tumors -- half way through the chemo regiment we discovered the treatments had only stiffled the growth and did not shrink it... but we were happy -- now to discover that our Avastin dreams are gone -- once again he went out of his way to say "this will end your life" -- and that he didn't have a well thought out plan to replace it -- is a bit disconcerting -- she begins radiation to the lower spine next week to help get her out of pain... ugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatlemike Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 John,Im sorry about your mothers progression.I hope the radiation helps with the pain and that they get a new plan in order. Prayers are with you and your mom at this difficult time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don M Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Johnny, I hope our mom's pain can soon be controlled. Many people have had success with alimta. don m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaminkw Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Johnny, I just hate it when people have to have doctor's that act tlike boars. You and your mother and family deserve better. I'm sorry about the progression and the disappointment over the discontinuance of Avastin. I hope the radiation makes her more comfortable. Judy in Key West (now in PA) P.S. I love your picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraL Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Hi Johnny. So sorry to hear about the progression. Prayers that Alimta does the stabilization trick and that the radiation helps with her pain. Pain is bad and needs to go away. Take it from someone who has suffered from it for a bit too long. Keep asking her how her pain is doing and keep going back for a different pain plan if she isn't comfortable. I finally got a new plan today and am hopeful. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts for your mom. Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsC1210 Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Johnny So sorry to hear about the progression. Sending positive thoughts and prayers that the radiation will do wonders for the pain and the next line of treatment will halt the progression and reverse that trend! As for the doctor... have you considered getting a second opinion with someone more hopeful/helpful? Keep us posted.. Warm hugs Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny_cubert Posted September 18, 2008 Author Share Posted September 18, 2008 when our doc let us know that we were suddenly off the avastin, and he suggests alimta -- but alimta didn't have all the fancy papers that Avastin came with and the doc wasn't as enthusiastic as he was to sell us on the AVASTIN... with avastin we had dreams of five year life span if not more -- of course, we are optimists, we also knew she could die a year from now -- but at least we had the pretense of hope until the doc took us off saying that the cancer was growing and we had to try something else... so what about this alimta... are there a few success stories -- a few people that have had an extended quality life span??? jW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsC1210 Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Johnny Lots of people on this site have had EXCELLENT results with Alimta. I am sure they will be along with their good news stories shortly. My understanding is that the side effects are much easier to handle. Don't lose hope. There are so many survivor stories and success stories around here. Just keep focusing on the positives. There IS a new treatment plan in place and that alone is GOOD! Keep us posted.. We are here! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Johnny, could you fill out your sig line with treatment history? Sounds like your mom's first line treatment was chemo+avastin and your mom progressed on Avastin alone. According to what you wrote, she was stable for some period of time on that regimen. That's good. My dad progressed right through his first line treatment. Obviously news of progression stinks, but failure on first round chemo happens and you have several very interesting options behind it. Alimta is one of the newer approved chemotherapies out there. I know dr. west (www.cancergrace.org) has spoken of some patients being stable with advanced disease for a considerable period of time (years) on Alimta. I think I would ask your onc about the possibility of combining alimta and erbitux (a new non-chemo treatment that was shown this year to increase progression free survivial). I did a quick check on www.clinicaltrials.gov and found that, in fact, there is an enrolling clinical trial for second line alimta + erbitux: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/ ... tux&rank=1 Behind alimta is tarceva which as far as current lung cancer treatment goes is like playing the lottery as when it works --- man does it work. So now is not the time to get weak kneed, though it sounds like your dr. is a bit of a schmuck. Let us know how we can help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 by the way, is she on Zometa for the bone mets? that's standard protocol, but just wanted to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraL Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Hi again. I would suggest starting a new thread for folks here who have been on alimta, and I know of success stories here. I think you would get a better response. I was on alimta but had to get off as my system just couldn't tolerate it. Most others tolerate it quite well though and some here have been on it for quite a long time. Beyond alimta there are other drugs that can be used so please keep the hope alive. Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patti B Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Johnny- First of all, I would fire that jack-a$$ who told your mom that. Sounds like he needs a huge refresher course in bed-side manner. I was on Avastin alone for 7 months and then went to Alimta. I had 16 cycles of it so that was 48 weeks before I just last month showed progression (a tiny bit) and was switched to Tarceva. Altho Alimta is not the cake-walk that Avastin was, it is doable. The major side effects were fatigue and SOB but the good CAT scans were well worth it. And I lead a fairly active life-style with a teenage son and a husband gone all week and I was still able to run the household, run my son all over town and enjoy a summer of working in my garden. IF the Alimta should fail, remember there are more options available. Tarceva, for one and there are other chemos such as Gemzar, Navelbine and of course clinical trials. Don't give up, Johnny, you just happen to have a doc who is negative. How DARE he talk to your mom like that. PLEASE, please consider another doc. Prayers and thoughts to you and your mom. PM me if you have any other questions about Alimta. Hugs - Patti B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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