Already a member? Sign in
What - Inspire is a place where you can connect with people who share your health concerns and find information and advice in groups sponsored by organizations you know and trust.
Why - As a member you can use Inspire to let friends and family know how you're doing, contact others who share your health concerns, receive personalized updates and information about participating in surveys and clinical trials, and more.
How - Joining Inspire is completely free and usually takes less than a minute. Join now!
My dad has lung cancer that has spread into his liver & bones that was just diagnosed this week. His Dr. wants to start Chemo on Tuesday for 6 treatments of Cisplatin & Alimta. Does anyone have experience with this treatment. Do the benefits outweigh the risks?
Thanks
Cancer Taxol Chemotherapy Carboplatin Lung cancer Folic acid
Liver is a major organ -- that's not good. What risks are you talking about? LOL. It's all poison, isn't it?
I don't know about this combo, but I have had Alimta alone and fatigue is the only one I'm aware of, the only one that affected me anyway. I've had carboplatin with my pacitaxol and I know what the taxol caused (baldness) but again, aside from fatigue and a little numbness in the toes ... not so bad. Having my liver clear, that was worth it. But on my primary I only had one spot on my liver. Six months after it cleared up I had a leopard liver, now that one worries me a bit.
I just visited my cousin's wife, who has lived 2 years with stage IV and very little if any response to chemo. She's tried everything. She says the difference between her and me is right now mine involves major organs and hers does not (spine). She can't take more radiation. I think the spine is a major organ lol ... but she looks good.
I hope you get some answers. Treat the liver or cut the sucker out if you can, the liver regenerates nicely if the whole thing isn't involved.
Cisplatin is the worse of the two. He must stay very hydrated, at least 3 litres a day while doing chemo. If he becoms dehydrated, it can cause renal failure. He can have popsicles, sports drinks, watermelon as alternatives to just water alone. I would ask his doctor for folic acid and get B12 shots. Small meals are good, rather than try to force him to eat. Hydration is key.
Good luck and take care, JC
Hi General jason, your concerns about the side effects of chemotherapy are very understandable. Just as Cards7up said however, of those two chemotherapy treatments that your dad will receive, cisplatin is the one that has the most chance to make him sick. It can cause pretty uncomfortable nausea and even vomiting if good anti nausea medications are not given. Also it can hurt the kidneys and can give him pins and needles feelings in the tips of the fingers and toes and, lastly, it can cause a ringing in the ears sometimes. I know it sounds scary, but the reality is that most people do not get any of those side effects from Cisplatin. Alimta, on the other hand does not do any of those things. I hope that this helps.
Add to the discussion