Tarceva + Avastin

• By Pat-M
• Posted July 3, 2009 at 8:14 am
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Hi, I was dx with Stage IV adinocarinoma, lymph node involvement and two brain mets last Sept. The only treatment I have been on is Tarveca and Avastin. I've taken Tarceva every day since early Oct. and Avastin every 2 weeks. (I also had stereotactic surgery on the brain tumors, but they have not returned).

I hope the treatment will be successful for your daughter. Sounds like she an excellent candidate. Side effects can very from mild to severe , but do seem to go in cycles, not come all at once and ease over time. I'm very fortunate - all my side effects have been mild.

Tarceva is really a miracle, especially if you have a doctor wise enough to put you on it right away. My tumors were in remission within weeks. You can get on with your life pretty much as normal without the debilitating side effects of chemo/radiation. I still have some fatigue and my hair got very thin and curly, but small price to pay!

As her mom, I'm sure this is very hard on you, but I hope you will take lots of encouragement from the many, many stories of survival on this site, especially among young, never-smoked women on Tarceva. Don't ever become frightened by the statistics - we don't fit them!

One last thing... if for some reason the Tarceva doesn't work, please ask your oncologist about chemo sensitivity assay testing. Not all doctors are on board with this, but there are tests that can be done to pinpoint how effective various combinations of drugs will be in actually killing the cancer cells with the least amount of negative side effects. You need to have a biopsy sample for this, but it will give you peace of mind knowing that your aren't wasting more time dumping toxic chemicals into your body that won't work. You might want to check with a company called Rational Therapeutics in Long Beach, Ca. to find out more - www.rationaltherapeutics.com.

Best of luck to your daughter. I hope she is a shining Traceva success story!

Pat

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• By chessie-too
• Posted July 3, 2009 at 4:28 am
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Tarceva is a great drug. My onc said he would add the Avastin if the tarceva stopped working but for now I'm only on tarceva.

There are side effects such as rash, nausea, and diarrhea but they are quite manageable with prescriptions and lessen over time.

Neuropathy is also a side effect in some cases. I had it but it only lasted a few months. My onc prescribed neurontin for it. But there have been no permanent side effects.

I have been on tarceva for 2 1/2 years and doing great. Hope your daughter has the same great results.

Good luck and God Bless

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• By sheilake
• Posted July 3, 2009 at 2:41 am
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Given your daughter's profile, she is a good candidate. It takes only a month to determine whether Tarceva works so why not try it? If it does work, it can do the same thing as chemo can without the possible "after-effects" like neuopathy.

Feel free to email me for the "Tarceva Flaming Face Regime" (inspired by Christine Stewart), You've undoubtedly heard that rash can be a side-effect. This regime helps control the rash.

Here's hoping Tarceva and Avastin do the job!

Sheila
sheilake@aol.com

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• By Granny888
• Posted July 2, 2009 at 10:55 pm
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Very possibly. Especially with such a close watch with scans. Some people have had excellent results with tarceva, and if it is something that works for her all the more reason to start with it.

Being a clinical trial I'm a little surprised if they didn't test her biopsy for the EGFR factor, but maybe that's not a factor in this particular trial. Having it increases the likelihood that Tarceva will work, she is otherwise a good candidate. I was a nonsmoker (still am, hehe) but I was EGFR-. We aren't outruling Tarceva but we're holding off and trying something else first. Well, second, it hasn't been used often as a first-line treatment (but has been so successful that's probably why they are doing the trial!)

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