Search Results for 'gemcitabine cisplatin'
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Search Results
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In reply to: Dad Diagnosed at 81 – Ontario, Canada
Thank you all for your kind words and prayers, it is very comforting to know that your all here for us.
There is a lot of information out there, but I’m very surprised that the Canadian Cancer Society had very little to almost nothing about bile duct cancer. Although it is mentioned in the liver section, but is not at all found if you do a CC search. I think this needs to be changed and will contact them about it.
For the moment my Dad is waiting to get the metal stent put in, scheduled for April 7th, but due to the shade of yellow he’s been emitting the last few days it will likely be sooner, we see the gastro this afternoon. Don’t want to go through the infection again, it could kill him too.
An on going comment from all the medical staff we’ve seen, is that they can’t believe my Dad is 81, he looks good for his age! I think it’s the beef he’s packed on since he retired 16yrs ago. He really is pretty good considering, although since the blockage showed up his appetite has changed, he feels full a lot, wants to eat his favourite foods but then only eats half of what I put on his plate and does not want more, highly unusual. This is very disturbing to me, since we love to cook and eat, although it just maybe a saving grace that he has those extra pounds to spare.
Dr. Hedley (oncologist) told us that my Dad may just receive Gemcitabine, the Cisplatin maybe to powerful for him and cause further damage to other organs and cause worse side effects. I think Dr. Hedley is thinking that lets play it by ear, see how he tolerates Gem, and see if it even does anything to the tumour, and in a few more weeks have another CT and see if there is any change, if there is no change then leave him alone for now.
Again it’s up to my Dad, but he will likely just do what the Dr’s. tell him.
Either way I’m happy that’s he’s still here and in relatively good health and still independent.
Dianne
In reply to: Dad Diagnosed at 81 – Ontario, Canada
Hi there, I’m sorry to hear about your dad. My mom is also being at Princess Margaret. Her Oncologist is Dr. Knox. She was diagnosed with stage 4 in Dec/09 She is only having chemo treatments (not radiation) She is on gemcitabine and Cisplatin. She will have a CT scan at the end of week, and we will know if the Chemo helped. I wish you guys all the best.
In reply to: what treatments are out there
Hi Julie, Gemzar is also called Gemcitabine. In combination with Cisplatin, it’s a treatment of choice for inoperable bile duct and gallbladder cancer. I live in Canada, and that’s the treatment I’m getting. When suggesting it, my oncologist told me about a paper presented last year to the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Here’s a link to the article, which calls it “the worldwide standard of care” for advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer: http://journals.lww.com/oncology-times/Fulltext/2009/08101/Biliary_Tract_Cancer__Gemcitabine_Cisplatin_Called.15.aspx
I’ve only begun my third cycle, and it’s too soon to tell if it’s working, but I’m finding the side effects to be very tolerable.
I hope this information helps.
In reply to: Update From Irene in NH
Dear Irene – I’m so sorry you’re having such a rough time. My sister is on Gemcitabine & Cisplatin & neither of us has asked for a timescale. She’s had bad times on the regime – but overall she’s doing very well & we both believe her QOL is massively enhanced with it, rather than without. Of course, I have no idea what I would do if I were in her position, but I genuinely believe I’d choose the same as she has & go the chemo route.
I do NOT think renewing your magazine subscriptions was a bad idea; in fact I think you should keep up a rolling renewal because there is NO set expiration date. If there’s anything I’ve learned from this site (& I’ve learned a lot here) it’s that!!
Keep coming back & telling us how you’re getting on – & if you ever work out what you want to be when you grow up, please tell me … because I’m older than you & I have NO idea!!!
Julia x
In reply to: Just in Shock!!!
Jeff, I wanted to address your worries about Marc’s chemotherapy. You should both find out as much as possible about the chemo drugs he will be given, their possible side-effects, and what to do about them (including which ones should be reported to your physician).
I’ve been lucky with the Gemcitabine-Cisplatin treatment that I’m on, and so far, I’ve experienced a sore tongue and few little mouth sores and fatigue. Fortunately, my oncologist’s orders include my being given anti-nausea medication before the chemo drugs and taking it for three days after. I actually eat better on those four days than I do the rest of the time. The sore mouth was because I got behind when symptoms first appeared, rather than rinsing my mouth with soda water frequently over the first few days (this works as well as salt or baking soda solutions and is much more convenient).
Best of luck to you both, and be sure to keep your lines of communication open. My husband has been wonderful, but I have to be careful that he’s not getting too stressed with all the details of everything he’s taken on
In reply to: More Questions for all of you…
You might also check out the side-effects of the chemotherapy agents your mother is being given. The Cleveland Clinic’s Chemocare site at http://www.chemocare.com has excellent information on the various drugs and their side-effects. I’m on Gemcitabine and Cisplatin, and skin rash is one of the side effects of Gemcitabine.
In reply to: Avastin
Lauren,the treatment of choice for cc is gemcitabine plus a platinum drug like cisplatin.Realistically all chemo given for this type of cancer is classed as palliative because it is not really a cure but a buying extra time scenario.In some people the chemo doesnt work and in others it will prolong their life and or relieve symptoms.
Surgery is the only option that can truly be called curativeYou can research on this site,good luck. Janet
I think it is the word “palliative” that is offputtingIn reply to: New diagnosis of CC- so many questions!
Hi there, I am sorry to hear about your mom, my mom was diagnosed in December/2009 She is stage IV so surgery is not an option. She is on chemo though she is on gemcitabine and cisplatin. We are not from Alberta but we are in Toronto Ontario. I would seek a second opinion if you can.
In reply to: My adventure with cancer, for what it’s worth
Robin, your story is worth a LOT to me and others in this crazy world of ours. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience as a patient with a rare presentation of an already rare cancer.
Why did they stage your cancer as a 4?
My mom has oodles of bone mets. Her story is not unlike yours.
In Nov she was given an MRI on her neck for some icky pain that would not go away with PT or meds. Voila- numerous tumors, all up and down the spine. Next a full scan revealed a mass on a bile duct sitting on the gall bladder. Stent was inserted into duct. Second set of biopsies revealed that it was primary CC, stage 4, no other tumors.
We are unable to get her any treatment besides chemo due to the dstant mets on the bones. There are no tumors visible anywhere but the primary and on the bone. My mom starts cisplatin with her usual gemcitabine next week- those bone mets keep growing and multiplying. She has a monthly injection of Zometa. She uses pain meds just for sleeping at this point.
I am researching all the various chemos for cholangio, and also treatments for bone mets. We shall see if any of her docs will go out the box for her.
God bless you. May the pain meds keep working for you.
p.s. You are a better typist on Iphone than I am on the Mac!!!!!In reply to: Another reaction to chemo!
Have you already tried cisplatin with the gemcitabine, Rick? Just wondering because that is what my Mom will start next week.
I am so sorry to hear you had such a bad reaction to something that was working.
Thank you for sharing. I hope you get an answer from someone else soon. Take care!!In reply to: The journey starts
Tomf,
I am a very new member, with a mother about to start the Cisplatin and Gemcitabine chemo. I want to thank you for you wonderful diary- it is so incredibly helpful to hear from a real person with real experiences!!! I feel as if I know you. And I pray that you keep on this path and overcome the bumps along the way to BEAT this DEVIL!
Please keep in touch. With much gratitude and hope for you.In reply to: The journey starts
Just got back from Onc. My billirubin is still elavated. Seems it went like this. Normal bilirubin <1 and within a week it goes to 9.8. I then had a stent put in on a Friday. The following Tuesday it goes to 13.6. Then last Friday it drops to 12.4.
Had labs today, so not sure. Since all of this has been happening, I have not been on Chemo, which means the turmor has been growing.
Does anyone have any guess on what the billirubin should be before going on the Gemcitabine/Cisplatin regimen? My onc seems to think it should be less than 1.5 x normal. She said there is not enough data available.
I’m basically ok, just tired most of the time. My weight loss has stopped. I even gained 5 lbs from last week.
In reply to: First Scans on Gemcis – Great News
I’ve got a brand new treatment plan. I think that it is much better than the single option that I had before, but I am anxious about the future.
Based on my response to the Gemcitabine and Cisplatin; the condition of my liver; and fear about doing a liver resection and whipple at the same time (from both the surgeon and me); my surgeon, my wife and I have agreed on a new treatment plan:
First, I will have Transarterial Chemoembolization on my liver. The hope is that this will further shrink the liver tumors. We’ll do three of these “procedures” over the next three months. I had a set of scans last week that indicated a new lesion on my left lobe. This was the healthy part of my liver…..
Assuming that the TACE works, we’ll take a few weeks off and then do the whipple procedure to remove the disease that is outside my liver. While he’s got me opened up, the surgeon plans to burn my liver tumors with microwave ablation.
Assuming that works, I’ll recover from surgery and then have a few more months of Gem/Cis.
Assuming nothing new and awful crops up, we’ll get ready for liver resection.
I’m not sure what to think about this plan. I’m optimistic, but there are a lot of “assumes” in there. It’s certainly better then flipping a coin with my life (they gave me a 50/50 shot at surviving the other surgery). One day at a time………
So, my first TACE treatment is tomorrow. I’m nervous about the procedure itself and pain and nausea that I’ll have in the 12-24 hours following the procedure. Wish me luck!
-Z
Topic: Failed first-line regimen
Hi Everyone. My mom has been diagnosed with stage iv biliary cancer (whether its gallbladder or bile duct remains a mystery). She has mets to supraclavicular nodes, femoral nodes, and adrenal node. Initially, she was diagnosed with mets to lungs and aortic area, but these turned out to be blood clots. She was also diagnosed with a minute squamous cell anal cancer. Her latest ct report doesn’t mention anything about the liver, but the doctor says the liver is definitely involved. Because my mom was initially brought to the doctors care because of her anal cancer, we are being treated in the lower gi clinic. I know this doctor is incredibly well respected. He has been so kind and my mom loves him. I know I have no standing to second guess him. My frustration is that, after my mom initially responding to first line regimen of gemcitabine and cisplatin (i.e., tumor markers dropped by 75% and scan indicated tumors shrunk), her CA19-9 rose and some of the tumors began to grow. Her ca19-9 is still 620 points below baseline and some of the tumors remained stable. My concern is that the doctor says there is nothing left other than xeloda and that xeloda won’t shrink the tumors. He says we have a 50% chance of it holding the disease stable for awhile. My mom is thrilled not to have infusions and feels better. While I hope this continues, I’m not comfortable with hearing xeloda, which won’t shrink tumors, is our last and only resort. I’ve read about Folfox, GTX, avastin, tarceva, gem-cap-b, etc., and don’t know why doctor isn’t willing to be more aggressive, particularly when my mom is feeling stronger and we are fighting such an aggressive cancer. It feels to me like the doc has given up the fight. Maybe that’s because his hands are tied with insurance; maybe that because the hospital doesn’t do unproven off-label regimens; maybe he wants to make the latter part of my mom’s life as comfortable as possible. Having read all I can about this, I just don’t believe this is all there’s left. Please let me know if you have any thoughts or have had similar experiences. Your posts have always been a great comfort to me. Thank you and God Bless. Kathleen
In reply to: what treatments are out there
