new symptoms

Hi, Mcf,
You are welcome. and keep in touch.

If your wife responsed to GEM/CIS; mostly likely she will response to GEMOX which has less side effects than cisplatin;but of course, there is a platium compound call oxaliplatin in the GEMOX regimen But its use is depended on what side effects your wife cannot tolerate with cisplatin in order to minimize the problem with oxaliplatin(ask the doctor for this when there is a need for changing treatment plans if taxotere is too much for your wife.)

The reason I say this is at this time may seem to be out of the context of your current treatments plan. but as a patient myself, I want to prepare for the future.
Taxotere received “US Boxed warning” as follows:(it may not apply to your wife,but just for your info.; as with all my messages on this board are for educational purposes ONLY.)

“Patients with abnormal liver function,those receiving higher doses,and patients with non small cell lung cancer and a history of prior treatment with platinum derivatives who docetaxel(Taxotere)doses higher than 100mg/m2 are at high risk for treatment-related mortality.”
Even your wife did not have lung cancer,but she was on cisplatin for a long time. For this I would make sure the doctors aware of this.

God bless.

Hi, Mcf,

First of all, I am just a patient like your wife and I am not a doctor.
May I ask you a few questions to help me understand the course of treatments for your wife.
1. Is this the first time or 2nd time your wife had the Taxotere?
2. Was the GEM/CIS and GE/CAP(Xeloda)not working or just the side effects that forced the change of the regimens? and how long were your wife on those regimens?
3. Fluid retention is one of the common side effects of Taxotere monotherapy (13-60% ;and is dose dependent). The frequency of fluid retention of Taxotere depending on the diagnosis, dose , liver function, prior treatment, and premedication.The incidence is higher in patients with elevated liver function test.and increase sharply at cumulative doses of >/=400mg/m2.

Patients should be premedicated with a corticosteroid(ie: dexamethasone) one day prior to Taxotere administration and the 4days that followed(total days=5 days) to prevent PULMONARY/PERIPHERAL edema. If this prevention has already been done; then a 2nd opinion by another experienced oncologist should be consult.—Drug information Handbook by Charles f. Lacy 2008-2009 16th Edition.

Are you still under the care of Mayo clinics doctors? they should be pretty good on top of CCA treatments !!! If so, I will be very surprised by it.
keep in touch,
God bless.