hillham Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 On 5/11/2022 at 12:25 AM, Kelvin4426 said: Hi guys just wanna give an update and a question I had. My mom went to visit the oncologist who will be treating her cancer and was told she will be on chemo/radiation for 4 months chemo 6 week radiation I believe. She told her that she would lose her hair but will grow back l. Was wondering does this combo sound like the standard and do most people lose their hair? I've read a lot of people don't lose it I had four rounds of cisplatin/pemetrexid, plus radiation. I was told that I might lose my hair, but I was relieved when I didn't. I didn't even have thinning. As for starting with chemo and radiation vs. targeted therapies, that was the big decision. The oncologists seemed to feel that since I was young (ish) and very healthy, they could throw the book at my cancer. They hoped the chemo and radiation would kill the cancer for good, and then I could use targeted therapies (I have Ros-1 fusion) as an "insurance policy" afterward. The chemo and radiation have been successful so far (knock wood) but I had an extremely hard time with side effects the minute I started the targeted therapy drug, so I stopped. Everyone is different. Some people take the targeted therapies and feel just fine on them. I was the opposite, and felt almost nothing from the chemo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin4426 Posted May 20, 2022 Author Share Posted May 20, 2022 34 minutes ago, hillham said: I had four rounds of cisplatin/pemetrexid, plus radiation. I was told that I might lose my hair, but I was relieved when I didn't. I didn't even have thinning. As for starting with chemo and radiation vs. targeted therapies, that was the big decision. The oncologists seemed to feel that since I was young (ish) and very healthy, they could throw the book at my cancer. They hoped the chemo and radiation would kill the cancer for good, and then I could use targeted therapies (I have Ros-1 fusion) as an "insurance policy" afterward. The chemo and radiation have been successful so far (knock wood) but I had an extremely hard time with side effects the minute I started the targeted therapy drug, so I stopped. Everyone is different. Some people take the targeted therapies and feel just fine on them. I was the opposite, and felt almost nothing from the chemo. That's exactly what they told my mom about chemoradiation 1st and targeted as insurance surprised for my mom as she's 63 I'd say fairly healthy but feel like 60s is up in age Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin4426 Posted May 20, 2022 Author Share Posted May 20, 2022 5 minutes ago, Kelvin4426 said: That's exactly what they told my mom about chemoradiation 1st and targeted as insurance surprised for my mom as she's 63 I'd say fairly healthy but feel like 60s is up in age Also since u stopped target are u in any other treatment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M2 Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 Kelvin, my oncologist threw the book at my cancer, just like@hillham's did, even though I was 66 at the time. 60's is not as old as you think, lol. My father lived to be 99--that is old! LouT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillham Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 15 hours ago, Kelvin4426 said: Also since u stopped target are u in any other treatment I am not on any treatment at the moment. All my scans have been clear since the chemo and radiation. I will certainly go on targeted therapies if my cancer returns. There are a few options, and I am told that most of the time the worst of the side effects are only in the beginning. It's also exciting to see new and improved therapies all the time. When I reacted badly to the drug, my oncologist just said that since there was no active cancer to treat, I didn't need to suffer for now. Tom Galli and LouT 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin4426 Posted May 21, 2022 Author Share Posted May 21, 2022 1 hour ago, hillham said: I am not on any treatment at the moment. All my scans have been clear since the chemo and radiation. I will certainly go on targeted therapies if my cancer returns. There are a few options, and I am told that most of the time the worst of the side effects are only in the beginning. It's also exciting to see new and improved therapies all the time. When I reacted badly to the drug, my oncologist just said that since there was no active cancer to treat, I didn't need to suffer for now. Oo another question why were u put on targeted therepy if you were clear in thought target was only good for a year wouldn't it have been better to start if it did come back? BTW congrats on being NED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilyMir Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 I don't know about other mutations Kelvin, but targeted therapy for EGFR +ve patients (which your mom may/likely? to have) has been approved as adjuvant therapy recently. Reason is that trials showed massive reduction of recurrence and death risk (something like 80%, compare with 5-15% for chemo). This is why I was told I should go on Tagrisso after surgery+chemo with possible radiation in between. No medication works for everyone though. More info here (reads like advertising but it reports exact study, results and risks): https://www.tagrisso.com/after-surgery/about-tagrisso/clinical-trial-results.html. Info for Targeted therapy is not only good for one year, no one knows how a patient will react as I understood, but seems most patients (not all) benefit a lot but then develop resistance to it after some time. Scientists are starting to say this may be due to the cancer mutating and the target therapy not being a match anymore. I am hearing that they probably will try combined medications that cover multiple mutations or do new biopsies to find a better match. This is all so very recent so let us hope scientists do massive strides in new medications very soon! Tom Galli, DMaddox and LouT 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M2 Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 Kelvin, targeted therapy such as Tagrisso is given for as long as it works. (I'm on it for 26 months now.) However, I understand that as adjuvant therapy after surgery for early stages, it is given for 3 years. However, they may change the guidance in coming years. Tagrisso has only recently been approved as early stage adjuvant therapy, and there isn't much experience yet in that patient population. Tom Galli and LouT 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillham Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 On 5/21/2022 at 10:52 AM, Kelvin4426 said: Oo another question why were u put on targeted therepy if you were clear in thought target was only good for a year wouldn't it have been better to start if it did come back? BTW congrats on being NED We were trying the targeted therapy drug as adjuvant therapy. However, there is not a lot of data for my particular mutation (Ros-1) that shows that the targeted therapies will stop a recurrence. I decided not to do use it that way for now since I have no visible cancer to treat. The targeted therapies work for some people for a very long time (ten years or more!) and others have to keep switching because they develop a resistance. LouT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin4426 Posted May 27, 2022 Author Share Posted May 27, 2022 So my mom finally starts her treatment this coming Monday with cisplatin and etoposide for stage 3b nclc was wondering if anyone got this as I see it's mostly for sclc LouT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilyMir Posted May 27, 2022 Share Posted May 27, 2022 Glad to hear you mom has her treatment plan finalized. Did she have the EGFR mutation after all? I think those drugs are used for many kinds of cancers and are not specific to one if I am not mistaken. Best of luck! LouT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin4426 Posted May 27, 2022 Author Share Posted May 27, 2022 28 minutes ago, LilyMir said: Glad to hear you mom has her treatment plan finalized. Did she have the EGFR mutation after all? I think those drugs are used for many kinds of cancers and are not specific to one if I am not mistaken. Best of luck! I have yet to find out another member from vancouver dad is having the same combo this Monday aswell and told me that he had to ask about their biomarkers. I've told my mom to ask on Monday just to see if there's anything fingers crossed. LouT and Tom Galli 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilyMir Posted May 27, 2022 Share Posted May 27, 2022 The protocol is online at BCCA website, seems it is used for combo therapy (chemo and radiation). Targeted therapy likely comes after that anyways (?) is applicable but make sure you do ask and get answers about her molecular testing results. You should get a copy of all results. LouT and Judy M2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin4426 Posted May 31, 2022 Author Share Posted May 31, 2022 Hey guys just an update my mom completed her first day of treatment! She was told her hair will fall off in 3 weeks ;( and was wondering why do some cancer treatments have hairless and some don't? I've read some people with lung cancer not having their hair fall off Tom Galli 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilyMir Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 Hope your mom is feeling well. It depends on the chemo drug Kelvin. It is distressing but remember that it is temporary and the hair grows back. Focus on the fact that the chemo is killing the cancer. Maybe buy your mom a couple of nice scarfs or hats if she likes? It can be rather stylish to wear them. Tom Galli 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillham Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 For what it's worth, they told me my hair would fall out too (cisplatin + pemetrexid), so I was surprised when it did not. I know it must be hard losing hair because it makes you look "sick." It's another obstacle we have to overcome. I hope she can take one day at a time and find some strength. I'm thinking of her! LouT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 Kevin, I've had 18 infusions of Taxol and Carboplatin. The first 6 were "understrength" and done in conjunction with conventional radiation. I only lost gray hair and looked 10 years younger after treatment! But the last 12 were high-test formulation, and my hair departed about a week after first infusion. I considered hair loss to be a small problem compared to therapeutic results--cancer cells were killed. My hair started growing back about a month after my last treatment. I hope your mom's treatment arrests her lung cancer. Stay the course. Tom LouT and DMaddox 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin4426 Posted June 1, 2022 Author Share Posted June 1, 2022 11 hours ago, Tom Galli said: Kevin, I've had 18 infusions of Taxol and Carboplatin. The first 6 were "understrength" and done in conjunction with conventional radiation. I only lost gray hair and looked 10 years younger after treatment! But the last 12 were high-test formulation, and my hair departed about a week after first infusion. I considered hair loss to be a small problem compared to therapeutic results--cancer cells were killed. My hair started growing back about a month after my last treatment. I hope your mom's treatment arrests her lung cancer. Stay the course. Tom Haha if only I can get a drug to remove my grey hair. Yea I think its just sad for any girl to lose their hair where as guys already have short hair but yes I'll take hair loss any day of the week if it means the cancer will go away Tom Galli 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin4426 Posted June 1, 2022 Author Share Posted June 1, 2022 14 hours ago, hillham said: For what it's worth, they told me my hair would fall out too (cisplatin + pemetrexid), so I was surprised when it did not. I know it must be hard losing hair because it makes you look "sick." It's another obstacle we have to overcome. I hope she can take one day at a time and find some strength. I'm thinking of her! Thanks for your thoughts hoping for the best Tom Galli 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin4426 Posted June 1, 2022 Author Share Posted June 1, 2022 Hey guys just wondering so my mom symptoms was only a cough before she was diagnosed and was told that her cough should go away while on treatment. Just a eandom thought was wondering if it goes away is that a good sign that the tunor is shrinking or does the medicine just numb the symptoms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted June 1, 2022 Share Posted June 1, 2022 Kelvin, I would count cough suppression as an indicator that chemo is having a desired effect on your mom's trumor. Tumors cause irritation that yields to coughing so eliminating the source of irritation surpasses the symptoms. Stay the course. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M2 Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 My cough went away after 2 weeks of chemo and radiation. Based on my scans immediately after treatments ended, it's clear those treatments were having the desired effect. LouT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin4426 Posted June 3, 2022 Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 6 minutes ago, Judy M2 said: My cough went away after 2 weeks of chemo and radiation. Based on my scans immediately after treatments ended, it's clear those treatments were having the desired effect. Thats great tht it wasn't long till your symptoms went away! I feel like once my moms cough goes away I will feel a lot more optimistic that the chemo is working. LouT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M2 Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Yes, you and your mom both will. The chemo might bring some side effects but those should be temporary. Hoping for good results for her. LouT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin4426 Posted June 3, 2022 Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 2 minutes ago, Judy M2 said: Yes, you and your mom both will. The chemo might bring some side effects but those should be temporary. Hoping for good results for her. Thanks so much will keep updated Judy M2 1 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.