What Will You Do After Adjuvant Chemotherapy Is Done.

Discussion Board Forums Chemotherapy & More What Will You Do After Adjuvant Chemotherapy Is Done.

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  • #64307
    marions
    Moderator

    The BILCAP clinical trial Xeloda (capecitabine) in adjuvant setting (proceeding surgery) should be concluded in January 2014. I hope for the data to be released at the upcoming ASCO 2014.
    http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/trials/a-trial-looking-at-capecitabine-after-surgery-for-cancer-of-the-bile-duct-or-gallbladder

    It is possible that the data will provide sufficient evidence for maintenance therapy with this drug combination. As of now, no Phase III clinical trial has established Xeloda as maintenance for CC.
    Hugs,
    Marion

    #64306
    pcl1029
    Member

    Hi, everyone,

    http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=65176#p65176

    Now, I can give you an answer about the message I wrote earlier, check link above.

    After 6 months of Xeloda adjuvant therapy after the second resection, I switched to the maintaince dose for 6 -8months ; CCA recurred for the 3rd time . Therefore ,at least for me , the reduced dose of Xeloda as maintaince therapy did not prevent my 3rd recurrence. Another lesson learnt .

    I think the best way is to have PET or CT scan and lab work every 3-6 month to catch the recurrence early enough to allow more options in future treatment in case the CCA comes back;eat well; build up the strength and continue to keep up to date with the knowledge about this Chronic disease. This may be the best solution after the adjuvant therapy is completed .

    God bless.

    #64305
    pcl1029
    Member

    Hi, everyone,
    the link below is relate to low dose Xeloda maintenance.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2739638/

    Gods.

    #64304
    pcl1029
    Member

    Hi,
    Thanks Gavin.
    BTW, the following link may be of interest to some along with the same line of thinking about inflammation and cancer and provide additional info of the parameters that may be of value for prognostic monitoring of treatment response.

    http://www.asco.org/ASCOv2/Meetings/Abstracts?&vmview=abst_detail_view&confID=114&abstractID=101367

    God bless.

    #64303
    gavin
    Moderator

    Thanks for all of this Percy! Very useful and informative as well. I hope that all is well with you right now.

    Take it easy,

    Gavin

    #64302
    pcl1029
    Member

    Hi,Lisa,
    In your case, I will finish the radiation treatment first, rest enough till the energy level comes back and get your oncologist on board. Then if s/he choose adjuvant chemotherapy for you after the radiation, you can ask whether You can take Xeloda at home alone for connivence. after the 6 month or so of the standard treatment period, ,then You may like Eli, print out the article of low dose maintenance of using Xeloda to show to the oncologist to see whether s/he agrees with you. However, I do not think the oncologist will agree with you for taking the Yunzhi supplement, because I do not think they have done any research reading on it. But ,print the article out from the Sloan Kettering web site to help you in discussion with s/he. Then it will be up to you to decide whether to take the supplement.
    Get well soon and
    God bless,

    #64301
    lisacraine
    Spectator

    Percy,
    Thank you for the information. I should start radiation this week but I want something to take as maintenance.
    Lisa

    #64300
    pcl1029
    Member

    Hi, everyone,
    the link below is in line with this topic discussion of “what will you do after adjuvant chemotherapy is done.”

    http://www.rttnews.com/2032349/cancer-eating-stems-cells-could-yield-new-treatment-option.aspx?type=can

    For myself: Besides I am continuing on the “low dose maintenance ” of using Xelodafor a year now; I am also taking an oral form of supplement to increase my immune systems’ ability to fight against the inflammation .The capsule I am taking is “Yunzhi extract” capsule which displays the following pharmacological actions(PA).(The PA of “Yunzhi” is not proven by the western medical standard as a drug;therefore it is classified as a supplement by FDA)
    1.to activate the T-lymphocytes and other cells in the WBC group to fight again cancer cells.
    2.to increase the production of antibodies,such as cytokines IL-2 and IL-6 etc.to protect or increase our body defense against cancer and other inflammation condition in our body.( I view cancer as an inflammation condition of our own normal cells)
    Finally ,CAUTION: be aware of sub standard Yunzhi extract capsules manufactured by different companies. Choose wisely and carefully ,read some articles about the “Yunzhi” before you put down your money.
    the following link may be helpful for knowing more about Chinese Herbal medicine.

    http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/disclaimer?msk_disclaimer_herb=1&destination=%2Fcancer-care%2Fherb%2Fcoriolus-versicolor

    God bless.

    #64299
    ldittmar
    Spectator

    Interesting thread……..my husband is post-whipple. I will mention Xeloda t his oncologist….

    Laurie

    #64298
    marions
    Moderator

    Ha, Eli, I found my original posting dated August 28th, 2006. You are right, no mention of a resection:

    Here is the posting:

    Last week I had the pleasure of talking to a wonderful older man. He shared with me that he had been diagnosed with CC in 1993 has two stints implanted, and that he had been treated with 5-FU for ten quite tolerable years. He is though quite upset that the treatments have caused problems with two of his heart valves. After expressing my concern and good wishes he revealed that he was eighty-seven years old. It warmed my heart – may it warm yours.

    Hugs,
    Marion

    #64297
    Eli
    Spectator

    Marion, thanks for clarifying. When I said that insurance approval of maintenance chemo could be difficult to obtain, I was talking about resected cases.

    If the 86 year old gentlemen didn’t have a resection, it’s obviously a very different situation from insurance point of view. The approval of maintenance chemo could be very routine in his case.

    #64296
    pcl1029
    Member

    Hi, Marion,
    As I told Eli, I may be on Xeloda forever, I am currently on the Xyloda for the past 10 month at 75% of the full dose and 2 weeks on and one week off.
    In the research That I did about”the maintenance dose” topic disscussion,I found some at half the dose, or just 1000mg twice daily for ALL patients without regard to the body surfaces area (m2) at 2weeks on and one week off. Or one report indicated same dose at 5 days on and 2 days off ; or another report indicated dose per M2 ,but at a 7 days on and 7 days off schedule. All of the above dose schedule and frequency are done for solid cancers OTHER THAN that of CCA. But as you know, often ,if successful, they will try on us too.
    This is a subject that requires the cooperation of the oncologist as well as the patient who understand why he will want such a prolong or even a lifetime chemotherapy until the CURE will be here in 3-5years.
    My answer is that I do not want to be a sitting duck , I want to be proactive.
    And Xeloda is relative easy to tolerate and is proven to be effective in other solid cancer. But even so, the main purpose is to prolong ,if possible, the disease control state,or theTTF( time to be free of the disease) as long as possible before it comes back again. It is still not a cure, that is why,in addition to that ,I continue to take the oncozac twice a day on my Xeloda days off.
    God bless.

    #64295
    marions
    Moderator

    Yikes, Eli. I don’t recall. A physician friend connected me with him at the time of my husband’s original diagnoses. At that time I was all over the place with thoughts, information gathering, and fear of what was to come. My original posting on this subject must date back to 2006. We really can’t give much credence to it as I don’t know whether this gentleman had been resected nor, whether he had been intrahepatic or extrahepatic. My intent was to mention it in order to provoke thoughts on the subject of maintenance therapy and to encourage others to share their opinions with us. I would be especially interested in knowing the thoughts of their respective physicians.
    Hugs,
    Marion

    #64294
    Eli
    Spectator

    Marion, can you confirm that the person you mentioned was a resected patient in remission?

    #64293
    marions
    Moderator

    I don’t disagree with any of the above mentioned however; some years back I spoke with a patient who had been (for many years) on maintenance with Xeloda. Granted, the experience of one patient alone does not present a scientific explanation of success however; it may leave open the possibility of insurance company compliance. I would also like to add that this particular patient complained of heart valve problems he believes had been caused by the continuous use of Xeloda. He was 86 years at the time of our encounter. Don’t know whether there is any validity to his claim, but thought to mention it anyway.
    Hugs,
    Marion

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