Irinotecan / Camptosar Clinical Trial

Well, I’ve had my second treatment of chemo in this clinical trial last Thurs. I haven’t posted about it before now because I just get through checking posts and get worn out, so I don’t post. This time I thought I would post first, then get caught up.

This clinical trial bases your dosage on what gene-type you have. If your body processes the chemo. meds faster, you get a higher dosage. The purpose of the trial is to show that chemo really should be based this way rather than the typical height-weight calculation. My gene-type processed the chemo too fast and it didn’t stay in my system long enough to do damage to the cancer. As I look at my family history, I have longevity on my father’s side….the women (5 out of 10 kids) lived well into their 90’s and even one aunt lived until 102. They had very little illness and no complications with their health until the very later years. My father’s sister is now 86 and has no arthritis and no other health issues. She has fallen and broken bones, but heals very, very quickly. My problem I believe came about from other issues I had inherited from my mother’s side. (The men on my father’s side all smoked and had smoking-related illnesses).

That said, we really can’t begin to understand why some get this often rare cancer and others do not. My only hope here is that this clinical trial and higher dose of chemo will help me. About 1 week after the first treatment, my hair started falling out. It is really thin now, and I probably have about 2 weeks left before I will probably have to cover it up (or cut it and wear a wig). I’ve shortened it, and found that I have a natural curl to it, possibly caused by the chemo, I don’t know. I was on 4 other chemo. meds (2 at a time) that I was told could cause me to lose hair and I had not. SO, this is kind of a good thing as I see it. Maybe by staying in my system longer this time, it will kick the cancer for sure.

The other side effects are diarrhea (immediately after infusion, and delayed a weekj) and of course the typical weakness and tiredness. This time the tiredness is much more prevalent. Sometimes I’m amazed at how much I sleep compared with before. BUT as I said about the hair loss, this tells me that at least it’s there doing SOMETHING this time.

I have CT scans scheduled for next week when they will see if this regimen is doing any damage to the tumors in my liver and lungs. When they see that it is (being very optimistic here), I will have 1 or 2 more treatments. If no change, they may opt for other treatments. The doctors seem very hopeful here too since I am getting almost 1/2 as much more dosage than would normally be given (500 mg is the norm, I’m getting 700 mg).

Right now I need lots and lots of rest. My employer is being very supportive and allowing me to take the time off that I might need both for me and to take care of my son. My husband on the other hand, is not being very supportive. It’s funny how much I get from this website, as compared to what I get at home. My family (other than my husband) has been terrific through all of this, but my husband is indifferent. Sometimes I feel like I should just go on without him and make the best of it that way. My jealousy pops up when I see how much you all care for your families and they for you. I am so glad for this website right now.

Thank you all for your support here. I don’t know what I would do without all of you. I’ll stay in touch. My best to all of you in your fight against this cancer.

Linda