Guest Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 Is it impossible to get straight answers from these Doctors? I would like to try Chemosensitivity before he starts his first cycle of chemo tomorrow. I do not believe the "cookie cutter" approach is the right way, without knowing the tumors sensitivity. When I suggest anything to his Medical Oncologist, he says "these are not proven diciplines". My husband starts his chemo/radiation tomorrow. Cisplatin/Etoposide. Does everyone with Adneocarcinoma, Stage IIIA, unresectable lung cancer get the same treatment? My husband is so despondent he was contemplating suicide last night. He can hardly walk from the pain and swelling in his knees and ankles. One Dr. told us it was from a gas given off by the tumors. He has gone for so long without proper diagnosis that he is willing to start his chemo tomorrow...right or wrong. Perhaps, I should tread lightly and not push this chemosensitivity test? Comments please. Judy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe B Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 Judy, I like the idea of chemo sensitivity... but essentially you would have to delay treatment in order to have this done properly (it will take some time to find a place and, send the tumor sample and then receive the results) I guess you could start treatement and change course after you get teh results back. Don't rely in your doctors to arrange this, they probably wont be of much help. I had Cisplatin& Etoposide along with radiation for stage IIIA (after I had surgery). It was based on the results of a European study that demonstrated a statistically significant survival advantage (of 5%) for patients receiving that combination compared to those that just had radiation. It was the first study to show a survival advantage (after surgery) with a chem combination. Close to 50% of stage II and IIIA patients in the study survived at least 5 years. many Oncoogist are going back to Cisplatin due to belief that it is more effective than Carboplatin (although harsher than Carboplatin) Hope this helps... Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhutch1366 Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 Dear Judy, I had radiation with cisplatin/etoposide, for a NSCLC IIIA (they didn't tell me what kind, said treatment for all three types was the same) and it killed my tumor completely, which was 14 cm x 9 cm x ?? cm. Darn thing was removed and found to be 13#. The reason they do the biopsy in the first place to find out what kind of a tumor it is, is to determine what approach to use (chemo). It's a cruder guide than testing each tumor specifically, but it's a heck of a lot more time-effective and resource-effective when dealing with large numbers of patients. Miracles happen every day. I am one. I am almost four years out from diagnosis, having had the same type of tumor and the same treatments. Good luck to you -- think positive!! MaryAnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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