Guest Pama Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 Hi, My sister's cancer came back. She has lung cancer and also a mass came back into her vocal cord area. She feeds thru a tube and is way too weak for kemo. She is also going to be 68 in March. She was given three options for her cancer. One is kemo which is out, because it will kill her, two is try the pill which has low side affects, nausia and maybe a rash, and third do nothing, just keep her comfortable. What I want to know is, she is going to try the pill. If it makes her sick she will quite. Quality of life is better than a sick quanity. Is there anyone out there who knows someone who has tried the pill and if so how is it working for them? I would appreciate any info. Please email me at peincorp@aol.com. My name is Pama Lyons . Thank you for your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted January 25, 2004 Share Posted January 25, 2004 I replied to you post via your e-mail address. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pama Posted January 25, 2004 Share Posted January 25, 2004 Ry, Thank you for that report. Can you tell me if your husband had any major side affects with the pill? Evelyns doctor told her that the pills side affects are mild nausia and rash. How long has your husband been on the pill and what is his age? Thanks for the info. Pama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted January 25, 2004 Share Posted January 25, 2004 He has been on Iressa coming up on a year, about 10 months or so. He only has the rash and diarhea, never any nausea. You can do a search on Iressa and read more about it. My husband is 53. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 For those who may be eligible there is a newer drug called CI-1033. It is like Iressa but essentially targets 3 additional growth factors in addition to the one that Iressa targets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginnyde Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 John, According to our oncologist this drug has proven no more effective than Iressa. Ginny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Thanks for the extra info Ginny ( I always read your posts because they are helpful) I thought CI-1033 was much newer than Iressa and that clinical trials are still ongoing. It would seem like this would work better since it targets the four growth factors. It turns out I was actually a little misinformed about Iressa etc. All cells have epidermal growth factors (normal and cancerous). I thought Iressa and others were actually more "Targeted" than they appear to be. It would be disappointing but not unexpected that it does not work better. It gets quite frustrating to hear of new drugs and find out they are not much better than the old ones how did he come to the conclusion that it doesnt work any better, when only Phase II trials are being done currently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Hi Pama. My wife (beckyg) was on Iressa for about six months. For the first several scans, everything was stable, which is reason enough to give it a try. She did have a rash that after several months became pretty irritating, but she found some cream at Walmart that helped. I don't remember any diahrea or nausea. It had minimal side effects, and we would have gladly taken it for years. Iressa was by far the easiest to handle of all the treatments we've tried. Good luck. Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginnyde Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 John, Our onc. is primarily in research, only a small amount of clinical work. Also, he had just gotten back from a conference in San Diego. I would imagine (just my guess) that they have a good amount of data during phase II. Ginny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Curtis, after it appeared the Iressa was working for John, our onc. told us that we would have to be very smart about knowing when it stopped working. He said that eventually the cancer would find a way around it and begin to grow. He said that when that happened there were other things to go to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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