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Carboplatin/VP-16....NSCLC or small cell?


Nushka

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I had treatment with the above and my diagnosis was adenocarcinoma with clear cell characteristics. I have not seen another person with NSCLC treated with this particular combo. Should my treatment have been something else? As you can see from my bio...first surgery...then chemo...then 37 treatments of radiation to the mediastinum. Is there anything else I should be doing? I have scans next month and am extremely nervous about it already. I have no symptoms but I know that this next year is going to be tricky to get through. I was dx'd with IIA/IIIA.

Nina

PS> any suggestions Dr. Joe?

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Becky had this exact chemo regimen right after her surgery. She did two rounds of this chemo while having the radiation treatments, and this chemo did the best for her. The tumor was "beaten up" by the treatments, and they would have done another surgery except for the pleural effusion surrounding the right lung. So it has been used before, and it was pretty successful for us.

Curtis

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Dear Nina,

I'm sorry my dear, but I don't understand why you would be questioning your treatments being your doing so well????!!!! :? Your chemo cocktail is not uncommon my dear. I had 36 sessions of radiation and I had VP-16 and Cisplatin. Cisplatin is in the same family as Carboplatin. Only think is, is Carbo is newer is all! It's kind of like, "if it's not broke then don't fix it"! Or don't go looking for trouble. Oh my dear, I am sure your doing just fine!!! I had the same cancer you did and I am here 9+ years later. Now, having said all I hope you will try your very best to Remain Positive. I know it's not easy, but it's doable. Slow down, and don't look to far out of range.

I'll be looking for your GOOD NEWS posting after your check up in the GOOD NEWS FORUM!!

Hang in there, your going to be just FINE!!! (((((NINA)))))

Hugs,

Connie

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Hi Nina, just wrapping things up here at hospital #1, headed to hospital #2 :? .

Carbo/VP-16 is a perfectly good treatment for lung ca when combined with radiation. It is probably not the best to use for metastatic disease as all of the "modern" cocktails (Taxol, Taxotere, Gemzar, Navelbine) have been shown to be a little better. A lot of oncs are using Taxol or Taxotere with radiation now but there is no definite evidence that they are better.

Sounds like your treatment worked great, congratulations!

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Nina,

I had cisplatin/ VP16, while doing radiation. It was not easy, but effective. I was Adeno-BAC stage 3A, and it shrunk down the cancer enough to have surgery. I was NED, but had 3 small nodules in the other lung, which weren't showing up on a PET scan. I suspected it was cancer myself. I think my doctors did too. if anything it would give me a shot by getting rid of the primary. and the nodules might be benign. My surgeon was aggressive, and thought it was my best shot at a cure. I am glad he did. I would do it again, if given the same choice. Best Luck in your treatment,

Cheryl

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Nina,

Your fears and concerns are completely understandable. I recall recently that you posted your concern that you have reached some point, or are about to, where reoccurrence is a possibility. I, too, have noticed that Cisplatin/V16 have been used mostly for SCLC, and as you approach your new scans, I can see why you would be wondering if you have had all the right treatments to keep you NED. I don't have an answer, but it would "seem" to me that if those drugs got you to NED, then they were probably the right treatment for you. My husband is approaching new scan time, too, and I can identify with your anxiety. Unfortunately, I don't think there are any magic words to reduce the anxiety - if there were, I would use them on myself. LOL!

Anyway, do the best you can to keep your mind busy and on other things, and I will try to do the same.

All my love and prayers,

Peggy

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Nina

It seems you have a more rare type of cancer--being it has clear cell characteristics, which means that your cancer differs from most of those on the board. That may well be why your treatment differed. I don't know, but I am imagining that is the case.

I know the what if question must be hard to deal with, but I guess you have to so make the best of it--and cry when you need to. It helps.

You have a great chance of beating the odds!

love and fortitude

elaine

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I just want to thank all of you for your replies. My chemo was done first and THEN 3 weeks later I started radiation. Since I only had three rounds I was worried that I hadn't had enough. I am very happy with my results so far....and I am positive most of the time...but I posted this in one of my "down" times. I guess we all have "what if" moments, and I was having one at the time. I am not a morbid person and think about the good things in life most of the time but I guess this hurricane and the stress of it got me down a little bit. I wish all of you the best of luck with all of your problems and feel badly that I bothered all of you with my "wonderings". I just wanted to make sure I was doing all I could do to prevent this monster from returning to my life. My oncologist says "there is nothing you can do except not smoke." I believe, like Snowflake that we have to help Him do his job by doing ours.

Nina

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Nina,

I just read your bio/signature and noticed that your diagnosis was Feb. 2003. Says to me you are waiting for Feb. 2005 - that "magic" two-year mark. Heck, me too, but my mark is Jan. 2005! I dread every scan, second guess my treatment during the time before scans as unlike many on the board, I did not have ANY chemo, just Iressa in trial form as "suppressive therapy" for two months..

Your thoughts are "normal", in our new, whacked out world. The doubts? I view them as that monster under the bed or in the closet when I was little...during daylight hours, they weren't there, but after dark, you could not convince me there wasn't one hanging out without turning on all the lights and doing the "circuit". Now, it wasn't EVERY night that I was terrified of those monsters being there, but the nights that I was, it was very, very real. Monsters can be very sneaky, ya know. You don't even know they are there until they are right in your face, like this darn cancer. I am armed with a flashlight (1 million candle power) and a Louisville Slugger, sitting in the middle of my bed just waiting for them...crawl on up here with me....

I wish I could wave a magic wand and make all the monsters disappear, but I can't. I can't make mine go away completely and stop having parties in the corners of my mind, and I can't make yours go away either. Maybe by making enough noise ourselves, though, we can drown out their snarling and growling...

Chick flicks and Hagen Daas at Snowflake's! Jammie party!!

Hang in there, Nina. We are experiencing some turbulence. Return your seatback to the upright position, lock tray tables and fasten your seatbelt...we'll be okay, just no drink service on this particular flight! :wink: (and boy, could I use a drink! lol)

xxoo,

Becky

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Nina,

I think you're second guessing all this like I do just about every day of my life. When I told my surgeon the chemo combination that I was going to do, which turned out to be gemzar/cisplatin, he said, "No one really knows what chemo is the most effective." That told me that there is no tried and true combo. I have seen others on the board who had your combination, and they seem to be doing fine. My surgeon also said the same thing your doc said--"The single best thing you can do to protect your health at this point is to continue to not smoke."

I choose to let those words ring in my ear all the time and continue to not smoke. I think our friend Snowflake hit the nail on the head when she talked about this anxiety we have all the time with this. You're looking out to that two year mark--I know because mine is in June of 2005. To me, that will mean moving to once a year checks with my surgeon and hopefully less anxiety attacks than this every three month stuff produces.

When I'm sane, I get aggravated with myself at the life I waste worrying constantly for the two weeks before my next chest film and surgeon's appt. But, friends, we are not alone in this. I know someone who is a two time breast cancer survivor and she burst into tears talking to me the other day because she was due for a 3 month check up that week--and this would mark three years from her second diagnosis!@! Potentially good news coming and she was a wreck. But, no one can possibly know how we feel unless they've been there themselves. Unfortunately, I'm finding a lot of people who are there.

Try to get some confidence that your treatment worked--you seem to be doing great so far, no reason to believe that won't continue....

Take care,

Cindy

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