First Scans on Gemcis – Great News
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My brother is also on Gemzcar + Cisplatin. His tumor area is down 50% from his first scan. He is on the third round with a new scan next month.
Keep it up !!!
I hope your procedure went well! I am anxious to hear what the procedure entailed, if you have time to post after the fact.
Hi Zupton,
As Kris says, that does indeed sound like a plan. And I hope it goes very well for you and I will keep everything crossed for you.
Best wishes
Gavin
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
Judy….my husband also had his scan after 6 treatments. In our case, a Pet Scan had never been done only, a CT.
Best,
MarionCan anyone tell me how they decide when to take scans after chemo. My brother has completed 3 cycles of gem/ox and the oncologist is not planning to do a CT scan for at least 2-3 more cycles. Also, have they done both CT with PET? Thanks
Good luck, Good luck, Good luck, Zach!! I’m rooting for you!!!
BTW – I love your “signature post” – that’s another slogan I’d like to adopt
Jane,
There is a post down the line, I think on December 30, 2009 or something like that where I describe my progress. The bottom line is that I’ve been very lucky. The Gemcitabine (Gemzar) and Cisplatin combo have been very effective with my tumors. According to the docs the tumor in my liver is “dramatically” smaller.
Early on, the side effects that I felt with this cocktail were minimal. It was just a couple of days of tough fatigue. I shaved my head preemptively, but it turned out to be unnecessary. I’ve had a full beard the entire time. Now that I’ve had 4 1/2 cycles of this, the side effects are somewhat more pronounced. I’ve had no nausea, but I do have a great deal of bone pain. The docs think that this is a side effect of the Neulasta shots that I give myself after chemo and not the chemo itself, but who knows? The other side effects that I’ve had include increased tumor pain, longer-term fatigue, and some “chemo-brain.” My aunt, a breast cancer survivor, describes chemo-brain as a lot of short term memory loss…..I’m definitely there.
From what I understand, I’m lucky in both my response to the drugs and my overall lack of side effects. Don’t get me wrong, this hasn’t been a picnic for me or my family, but the results have been worthwhile.
Best of luck to you. I don’t know anything about your new treatment but would love to hear about the results.
Keep strong,
-Z
Has anyone been on nexavar. If so, was it successful in shrinking the tumors? I am starting a new regimine this Wed. 1/6 after 2 Therasphere treatments. That did kill off the existing tumors, but 3 new appeared within 1 mo. of the last treatment, which was 11/16/09. I was afraid of the gemzar/cisplatin combo because of the side affects. Natually I don’t want to lose my hair and I hate the needles. At this time I do not have a port and don’t want one. I was on Gemzar for 3 – 4 mos. but it lost it’s effect.
Hi, I just saw your message and have some questions. This was in Sept. 09, have you had any tests since? Are you still on Gemzar/Cisplatin? What were the side effects of this combination? I am seeing my onc this Wed. 1/6 and was thinking about nexavar. Anxiously awaiting your response.
Thank you,
Jane638zupton wrote:Today was my first CT after two cycles of Gemcitabine and Cisplatin. Prior to the treatment, I had a large liver tumor, some lymph node involvement, and some nodules in and around the head of my pancreas. The only hope that I’d been given was to pray that the chemotherapy controlled the spread, do chemoembolization to beat up the liver tumor, and then do massive, risky surgery including a liver resection and whipple.Well, my surgeon was shocked by the progress that I’d made in two cycles. He said that the pancreatic disease was controlled; there was no further spread; and the liver tumor shrank substantially. The docs couldn’t give me a percentage reduction in size, but said that it was, “conclusive and exceptional.” They also said that if the tumor continued to shrink, the surgery would be much less risky.
I’ll have another cycle of this, please! The docs agreed that we’d stay the course on the gem/cis for now and reevaluate regarding chemoembolization after another cycle. They also told me that they weren’t planning to do any surgery before the New Year. Unless something drastically changes, it will be a great holiday in my household!
This is the first real, positive news that I’ve had since I was diagnosed back in July. I realize that I’ve got a long road ahead, but am celebrating this victory!
-Z
Hi Zupton,
Great news and I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you with your surgery. I hope it all goes well for you.
Best wishes and a happy new year to you.
Gavin
Hi there Z and Congratulations on winning the surgical lottery. My husband had a Whipple 4 years ago and is now 77. While it is a huge surgery, it is NOT life threatening. I can see where you would be in the hospital a month. Just for the Whipple he was in over 2 weeks. I want you to know that he was sitting up the second day and getting out of bed the 3rd day. You will be starting out 2010 with a BANG! Great news.
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