Search Results for 'gemcitabine cisplatin'
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Search Results
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In reply to: Starting new chemo.
Pamela, I had 13 rounds of Gemzar+Oxaliplatin May 2010-Feb 2011 and then had to change it because of the neuropathy. It worked all the way though. I was able to work, train, travel etc during this period (And I´m so much older then Lauren!)
Why doesn´t she get a Gemcitabine-combo?I would like to recommend her to take Turmeric (curcumin), I have done this since I got my diagnosis, and there are lots of studies on it´s effect on cancer being done at the moment.
Here is a new one, very interesting, concerning neuropathy caused by Cis/Oxaliplatin. It´s done on mice, but as it´s not hamful….
The nurses where I am being treated was astonished that I tolerated Oxaliplatin for 13 rounds without worse neuropathy. Turmeric?? Maybe.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22648527
Anyway, the neuropathy went away in a couple of months afterwards, and has not returned yet. I´m currently on Cisplatin+Gemzar.
Keep on fighting!!!
Love to both of you.
/MariaHi, everyone,
Now and then I will post the information I learned here whenn I review my notes during those sessions. Here is one . BUT
IF YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE TO READ ABOUT IT ,THEN JUST SKIP IT.NOTE#1
I went thru the notes from the ASCO 2012 convention about CCA; One of the he author belief that ” first, there is no definitive evidence we have ever benefited patients with adjuvant therapy for biliary tract cancers; Second, it is possible that adjuvant therapy will have differential effects depending on site of primary(IH,hilar,GB,EH) and third, the role of radiation may vary depending on site of primary.” The author also indicated the challenges of treating biliary cancers because of ” the heterogeneous of the disease. It is a uncommon tumor
and CCA and HCC are lumped together in annual statistics( in the past).Multiple locations– intrahepatic,extrahepatic(bile ducts,Klatzkin,periampullary); gallbadder. and we can’t be sure that these locations are truly the same pathology; and there are mixed tumor types(cholangiocellular). He concluded that in systemic therapy for biliary cancers, chemotherapy is the standard treatment and the level1 evidence standard is gemcitabine and cisplatin. Other combined regimens have activity. The FUTURE of this disease should lie in targeted therapies and there are a lot of targets and these should be applied wisely,however ,these are rare tumors and subdividing them by biomarkers may prove difficult.”
God bless,In reply to: Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma
Hi, I understand your shock and grief. Did they say if the cancer cleared from the lymph nodes your mom could be a candidate for resection? CC has it’s common symptoms and complications but it is individual when it comes to response to treatment. It seems the most common drugs used are gemcitabine and cisplatin, but as you will see on this board many other concoctions have been used as well. Some respond to to one type of chemo , some to others. There have been some to have enough success with chemo to qualify for a resection, that is why I would question about that. Sounds like your mom has half the battle won with her attitude. Stay strong, there have been battles won and there are many on here that the chemo is keeping the disease at bay. Sending you positive thoughts for a positive response to chemo for your mom. Nancy
In reply to: Newly diagnosed
Wow! 25? God bless her. I spoke with my mom this evening and told her I had met you on here. She couldn’t believe how young your daughter is. How unfair? I’m so happy to hear the approach you have taken toward this nasty cancer. I did go to the blog you have set up for this fight. It was nice to read about everything you are all doing. Your daughter has a great support group.
Some more info on my dad and his treatment.
He has liver and bile duct cancer. The tissue of origin test came back from California and they still can’t determine where it started????? The drugs they are using in his trial are 5-Fluorouracil, Gemcitabine (sp), and Cisplatin (which you mentioned). They have also found cancer on his 5th lumbar and on a rib (they’re not concerned about it because it’s not primary). His doctor is Fakih Marwan. Supposedly, the nurses are amazed at my father’s blood levels and don’t understand how he is sick with levels such as his???? I finally asked the question of the stage….ugh. My mom said they didn’t tell her a stage but she is assuming at least stage 3. She also informed me that it is in the lymph-nodes surrounding the liver so after all my reading I would say it is stage 4. But just like you and your family, we don’t want to know (I kinda do, just the way I am).
They’re ready to fight it and reading stories like your daughter’s is very uplifting. I’m all about positive thinking and kicking butt! My parents are at U of M for chemo next Thursday…if you happen to be there. My dad is about 6’3″ 265 (used to be) maybe 240 now and my mom is short in stature, red curly hair (short) and very friendly and talkative. I know you mentioned your daughter likes to close the curtain but if you happen to feel like talking they’ll be there. I told her your name and your daughters (hope you don’t mind), small world.
I will keep your family in my prayers. Thank you for all of the info.
In reply to: Daughter of Super Woman
Hey, mmking, looks like you are just up the road from me. Huntsville is not too far from Hooper.
Wow, is all I can say about your mom. What a constitution. I went through 2 1/2 rounds of gemcitabine/cisplatin and it just did a lot of damage and didn’t stop my cancer from growing. I’m jealous :0).
Welcome to this sight and please keep us posted.
In reply to: Recommended doctors on West Coast
Hi Lainy,
Her cancer has spread from the bile ducts to both sides of the liver. There is also a mass on the outside of her stomach. She had 3 rounds of chemo at St. Jude (gemcitabine and cisplatin). She didn’t respond to treatment and the tumors are growing. So now we’re at USC and hoping for the best. If she’s accepted to the clinical trial, she will start on Thursday. My mom is 58 and has never had any health issues besides acid reflux. It felt like we hit a brick wall going 90 when we received this diagnosis. The shock has obviously worn off but it’s still frustrating and scary.
The worst part is that some have told her to stop chemo and start juicing 12 times a day. I’m all for complimentary medicine but I most certainly feel that discontinuing chemo wouldn’t be prudent. She feels the same. Juicing might be beneficial if you’re healthy, but when you’re diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and you don’t have the luxury of time on your hands, chemo seems like the best option. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong. I don’t have the answers, I’m just trying to help her make the best decisions.
Thanks,
DanielaHello everybody. Thank you for your messages and responses. I will give you more detailed information on the situation.
My husband’s first line chemo was Gemcitabine and Cisplatin. The second line chemo is Oxaliplatin with 5FU and Folinic acid, this is also being supplemented by Bevacizamab (Avastin). He started this last week Wednesday.
He had two liver biopsies. The first was inconclusive and the second concluded that his cancer is a poorly differentiated combination of cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma. Initially, the tumor was 10cm in diameter and there appeared to be some local lymph node involvement (the scans could not confirm this 100% but the doctors were pretty certain due to lymph node enlargement). His CA-19-9 was 30,000 (normal is 0-20) but his liver was working well. Some doctors believed that high CA19-9 was due to spread in the peritoneal cavity. His bilirubin was stable at the time, no jaundice, no itching, just a lot of abdominal pain. We got 5 different opinions from the US and UK: Memorial Sloan Kettering, MD Anderson, Mayo, Liverpool Aintree University Hospital, and the London Bridge Hospital (the team is directly linked with King’s College Hospital). 3 voted in favor of chemotherapy first with the hope of shrinking the tumor and then operating, and 2 voted in favor of surgery first. He opted for the chemotherapy first option; it was the majority rule amongst the international medical community and the option that gave him the most peace of mind.
Now, after two rounds of 1st line chemo, his cancer has progressed. The tumor is larger, involves the hepatic artery, and there has been more spread into the lymph nodes. He is no longer eligible for surgery. Prior to the scan that revealed the situation we were very optimistic, because his CA19-9 had dropped from 30,000 to 500 but for some reason this was not indicative of how the situation was really unfolding. We spent 8 days in hospital last week. He was in a lot of pain, calcium was high, hemoglobin was low, bilirubin was high. It wasn’t until all these were brought back to normal that he was able to receive chemo and be discharged from hospital. Today we went on a small bike ride and he insisted on cooking me dinner. It is truly a roller coster experience and things can change from one minute to the next.
He is being treated at the London Bridge Hospital by a team that specialises in liver cancer and cholangiocarcinoma, and we are confident in our medical team.
In addition to the medical treatment he is receiving, we have also changed our diet (juices, smoothies, organic, no red meat, no sugar, low animal protein). He does visualization excercises, meditation and yoga. We have tried to embrace all the complementary approaches possible.
I hope with all my heart that he is able to heal and for us to have a long life together, have children, go on a 6,000 mile bike ride in Southeast Asia, start a business. However, all my extensive research points to the very sad fact that this is a terrible disease. This is going to be a major battle, and a very painful experience overall.
Any suggestions or advice that you can provide for us on the way forward would be very welcome and appreciated.
I send you all my most positive vibes and warm wishes.
In reply to: blood clots
Thanks so much for all of the positive feedback. Your welcoming messages are just what I needed! I am currently being treated at the Bay Pines, VA in Bay Pines, FL. They are AWESOME! The health care professionals pulled out all the stops to find out how a woman my Primary Care Physician used to call her, “healthiest patient” suddenly became so ill.
Once I received a diagnosis, I forwarded my medical records to the Mayo Clinic in MN. The Oncology staff advised that the treatment plan devised by the VA (Gemcitabine/Cisplatin) is precisely what they would do for me. Consequently, I decided that I would receive my treatment at the VA which is 8 minutes from my home. I believe that things will begin to get much better once I have a few more treatments. For the last 2 days I’ve actually felt better and so far I’ve only had 2 treatments, this is my off week. I believe part of my pain is due to the frequent number of out of town visitors that I have had lately. It truly does wear me out and I’ve decided that as much as I love my friends, when it’s time for me to shut it down…I do.
Again, thanks so much to all of you for your concern. Clearly, we all wish that we would never have the need for this board, but it’s quite a Blessing to have it!
Helen
In reply to: Newbie from Ontario, Canada
Hi Michelle,
Welcome to the forum and sorry that you had to find us. I am a fellow Ontarian. My wife and I live in Ottawa. My wife is the one with CC. She got diagnosed last April, a few days after she turned 44. She is being treated at The Ottawa Hospital. She was very fortunate that she was able to have surgery. (sounds unnatural to say “fortunate” about CC patient)
You asked how long a person can stay on the Gemcitabine/Carboplatin chemo. The following study says that patients completed up to 9 cycles.
Gemcitabine with carboplatin for advanced biliary tract cancers
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3028583/For the reference, my wife completed 6 cycles of Gemcitabine/Cisplatin after her surgery. The last three cycles were very tough. We debated quitting chemo after each cycle. Keep in mind, carboplatin is supposed to be far less toxic than cisplatin. Fingers crossed that your brother will be able to complete as many cycles as his doctors deem necessary.
The fact that both you and your brother got cancer at the young age of 38 makes you strong candidates for genetic testing. Certain inherited genetic mutations can be responsible for both breast cancer and CC. If you or your brother have kids, this is something you might want to consider doing for their sake. Genetic testing is covered by OHIP.
Best wishes,
EliIn reply to: New Member
Hi Vicky,
Welcome to the site and sorry that you had to find your way here.
You asked about the low blood counts. You didn’t mention which ones are the problem. Is it neutrophils (white blood cells) or platelets?
My wife completed 6 cycles of Gemcitabine/Cisplatin. The total of 12 chemo sessions. Her neutrophils dropped too low right after the first cycle. Our oncologist put her on Neupogen shots to keep her neutrophil counts up. She did 10 Neupogen injections in each chemo cycle. 3 injections after the first session of the cycle. 7 injections after the second session. Thanks to Neupogen, my wife completed all 6 cycles without interruptions.
Neulasta is a similar drug to Neupogen. Its effect lasts for a longer period of time, so it requires fewer injections than Neupogen. Ask your oncologist if one of these drugs is right for your mom.
Best wishes to you and your mom,
EliTopic: My Cancer Story
Hi folks. My name is Ken, I’m 59 years old, I live in Vancouver, Canada, and in 2009 I was diagnosed with liver cancer.
I had to undergo surgery and later chemotherapy.
Earlier in 2009, I was feeling a lot of pain in my stomach, and I walked up to the hospital not knowing what it was. The ER Dr. didn’t know what it was so I had to undergo some tests. It turned out to be a kidney stone. This was soon broken up and removed. But the tests also showed something on my liver. More tests showed it was a tumour, 3.2 cm in size. I got into surgery within 2 months. The surgeon cut half of my liver out, plus my gallbladder and various bits of bile ducts. That was Jan 12 2010. I was in hospital for 10 days. I lost a lot of weight and got quite weak. I got pneumonia requiring oxygen and strong antibiotics. My bile ducta collapsed, and a stent was put in to hold it open. It got blocked up, but that got fixed up.
Tests showed that the tumour was actually a gall bladder cancer – cholangiocarcinoma. Scans showed some questionable spots in my chest as well, but they couldn’t tell what all of them were.
After I got home, I had to rest for several days. Foods gradually progressed to solids. I had a drainage tube coming out of my stomach, I think for a least a month, The surgeon took it out. I was off work for about 10 months. Late in the year I had a CT Scan and was told that the cancer had indeed spread. Some of the spots in my chest were in fact metastases. I was given Cisplatin and Gemcitabine. I could only tolerate them for about 3 months. I worked during the first weeks of the chemo, but then had to go off again because of exhaustion. However, the tumours gradually disappeared even though I’d only had a short course of chemo. I saw my oncologist on April 23, and he told me everything looked good, as it has for the last 2 or 3 scans. Now he wants me to get a CT Scan every 6 months — I’d been getting them every 3 months. I have to say I feel less stressed now.
I also saw the surgeon once again last week. He had my CT Scan results from a couple of weeks ago, and confirmed that there weren’t any tumours. I was happy to hear that.
At one point, I was told I had 6 months to live — but that was about 2 1/2 years ago.
Also in 2010 I had a prostate biopsy. As it turned out I had prostate cancer as well. I was told that it was slow moving. The Dr. for this cancer told me they would just do active surveillance, because the Cholangiocarinoma was far more dangerous. Meanwhile, the prostate cancer got more advanced. Just recently, I started chemotherapy for that – brachytherapy was initially planned, but my anatomy wouldn’t allow safe insertion of the needles and radioactive beads.
Another disease that I had was Hep C, and I’d had this for many years. Just recently, my liver specalist said that I didn’t have any evidence of Hep C in my body any more! This rarely happens, and he was very happy when he told me this. He’ll be double-checking this result with another test in about 6 months, though.
Finally, I can tell you I’ve changed my eating habits. I eat more healthily, with more natural foods, including organics, plus vitamins and supplements, I’ve been on this regime for 2 years now. Another thing I’ve been doing is cycling and lifting weights — exercise improves survival.
Good luck to everyone!
Ken
In reply to: MD Anderson Visit
My daughter is on 5-FU along with Gemcitabine. She was also on Cisplatin up until about a month ago. The 5-FU is delivered through a pump she wears for 48 hours. She handles the two very well. No real side effects. I don’t think it is too rough of a chemo. I can’t tell you about the tumor markers or appetite. Lauren has a good appetite and her markers are normal. She only has tumors in her liver. She has had no hand /foot problems. Hoping and praying for the best for Trevor.
Love, -Pam
In reply to: starting chemo on may 1 – any tips
Dear friends,
thanks once again for your support and encouraging messages. I am happy to report that the first day of chemo went off well. It was an extremely long day, with the IVs starting at 10 am and going on till almost 10 pm. First, there was the hydration IV, followed by an oral anti-nausea, followed by gemcitabine, followed by some IV to flush the kidney, then saline again, followed by cisplatin, followed by anti-histamine and anti-nausea med again.
She was overnight at the hosp, and is going home now.
In reply to: Treatment for Unresectable HCC – any advice?
Hi,
The key to Chinese Herbal medicine is to find an experienced practitioner(very important);please read about this under our experience forum title under “Complimentary and alternative treatment”HCC is relatively chemotherapy-refractory tumor .Systemic chemotherapy is usually not well tolerated by ptients with significant underlying hepatic dysfunction(ie: liver cirrhosis,hepatic B or c involvement).
In general, monotherapy like 5FU,gemcitabine,irinotecan and thalidomide have been used;combination therapies of cisplatin with other agents like 5FU,,Xeloda,gemcitabine,doxorubicin have been done also. GEMOX and FOLFOX and XELOX are regimens that can be of use.
Summary: The efficacy of cytotoxic chemotherapy is modest in patients with HCC.— “Systemic treatment for advanced HCC”– from uptodate.com literature review version19.3 sept.2011.
Targeted agent like Nexavar( ie:400mg twice a day) provide some benefit to patients and the treatment is well tolerated(side effecgts included diarrhea,hand-foot skin reaction) the treatment outcome depended on the health status of the patient(ie:degree of liver cirrhosis) at the time of diagnosis.
Other targeted agent like Avastin,sunitinib(Sutent),erlotinib,cetuximab have been used for HCC as clinical trials when used in combinations.
Hormone therapy like tamoxifen,megestrol and octreotide have been studied in advnced HCC but cannot be recommended outside the context of a clinical trial.
If there are no spread or mets outside the liver, 2nd opinion or consult by interventional radiologist is recommended to consider other radiation treatments like RFA or radioembolization is of value to the patient.
I hope the info helps.
God bless.In reply to: Introduction
Hi,
welcome to this small world that we have to meet in this way.
I am a CCA patient for 35months and counting;dull pain near the rib bones is not uncommon due to the tumor is pushing against the chest or in other case,due to the the seroma or biloma(bile in a capsulated form).
you are right in the direction of considering balancing the “quality of life” vs the “quantity of life”.
gemcitabine and cisplatin is the regimen that used the most to treat CCA;GEMOX is the other one that is less toxic to the kidney;either way it is tough for the body.
Cholangiocarcinoma(CCA) is a long and winding road,it requires courage, knowledge and patience to navigate .
God bless.
