Ixempra

• By BethA
• Reply 454378
• July 10, 2009 at 10:55 am
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I was on 6 cycles of ixempra. Unfortunately it stopped working when my liver tumors started growing again on it. However my doctor suspects I'm triple negative now and that may be why I'm failing every chemo so don't apply this to your own results on Ixempra, it's helping other patients.

My experiences on it were good. My hair thinned more and more with each treatment, taste altered...the biggest side effect was extreme exhaustion that was fixed by the Neulasta shots. The Neulasta shots did cause strong aches in my ears , neck and shoulders for about 4 days, so used Motrin and sometimes Oxycodone to fix that. Overall the Ixempra was easy to take, so far only Taxol had really hard side effects for me.

Good luck with Ixempra, it is getting some good responses with other breast cancer patients where I go.

• By ious1Tjed6247
• Reply 455246
• July 10, 2009 at 9:27 pm
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Iexmpra is pretty strong chemo. My doctor at UCLA had to fight for us to get it as it's a challenge to justify. But she felt that we needed this next. Amazingly it worked wonders, extreme and I mean extreme fatigue.... So much so that even the nuprogen shots did work ......I "tanked". Same aches that you've experienced, shoulders, neck & ears.
Smell as well as taste were majorly affected.
This was after 1 cycle. But remember this was just me. Some people do really, really well on it.
Switched to abraxane and I am functional now.
Am tolerating abrraxane well and markers are significantly improved. The way I look at it is I got to get one "load dose" in there and that did benefit.

That's what I can tell you I know about Iexempra and hope you tolerate it well - when that happens.

• By BethA
• Reply 455844
• July 11, 2009 at 12:36 pm
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ous1Tjed6247
Who is your doctor at UCLA? I go there to, mine is Dr. Hurvitz....

• By ious1Tjed6247
• Reply 455861
• July 11, 2009 at 12:54 pm
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Yes, this is the oncologist we see also.

• By tzlzzw
• Reply 456047
• July 11, 2009 at 4:11 pm
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I did well on Iexempra. I was fatigued but have had worse. I don't remember being achy too much. Gemzar on the other hand is probably one of the worst chemos I was on! Exhausted, anemic, had to have a blood transfusion, just never felt well at all. It really is amazing how differently we react to treatments.

• By gpawelski
• Reply 456059
• July 11, 2009 at 4:23 pm
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Ixempra is the first in a new class of chemotherapy drugs called epothilones. The medicine, which is injected, works by inhibiting tubulin, a protein that acts like a scaffold inside cancer cells and is necessary for their proliferation. Known generically as ixabepilone, the drug tries to stymie tumors by keeping cancer cells from replicating successfully. Ixempra would be used alone or in combination with Xeloda, in patients who have failed two or three other chemo drugs.

The downside of Ixempra is that chemo that goes after dividing cells, also attacks healthy cells along with cancerous ones. Ixempra’s side effects include fatigue, hair loss and anorexia. Patients may experience a decrease in red blood cells, muscle pain, joint pain, the feeling of pins and needles in their fingers and toes, and in severe cases, inability to use their hands and feet fully.

• By ious1Tjed6247
• Reply 466586
• July 20, 2009 at 10:59 am
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Yes, that correct Gpaw does have those side effects and the anorexia part is because while you are 'tanking' due to all the fatigue (extreme for me) etc. eating is the last thing youwant to do.

So have to force yourself to have enough food to "sustain" you. I didn't do well and lost 27 lbs. but now am up 10 of those lost. Abraxaine is the new drug I am currently on and I tolerate it much better and markers are responding/declining.
Just need to get a handle on th pleural effusions I posted earler about.....going to UCLA today.
Thanks for all the support fellow alligators.