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Gemzar

Lynn1947
  • By Lynn1947
  • Posted November 6, 2009 at 10:52 pm · 12 replies
  • In Treatment
  • Shared with the public
0 Recommendations

I was diagnosed in November 2006. Since then, I have had three major surgeries. With the exception of the time spent recovering from the surgeries, I have had a very good quality of life.

I had assay testing done after my last surgery. The results led my doctor to recommend Gemzar, given on a schedule of once per week for two weeks and then I will have one week with no treatment.

Has any one else taking Gemzar alone? If so, what were the side effects and did it work?

Explore topics in this discussion:

Cancer Taxol Surgery Pancreatic cancer Breast cancer Anemia Chemotherapy Carboplatin

12 replies

yolie

Hi Lynn,

I'm sure I should know the answer to this question since I was diagnosed with OC 2 years ago, but what is assay testing?
I'm on week one Gemzar and week 2 Gemzar and Carbo, than 2 weeks off. My first experience with Gemzar was a little bit of flu and a rash, my 2nd cycle no rash or flu feelings.
Good luck.
Oh, my CA125 went down 20 points first treatment.
Yolie

gpawelski

Clinical oncologists that perform real-time individualized cell culture analysis on cancer patients have found out years ago that the combination of Gemzar + platinum (either cisplatin, carboplatin or oxaliplatin) was the most important drug combination introduced for the treatment of solid tumors in the past 18 years. Clinical responses with this regimen were unprecedented.

Recognizing the synergistic effects of this combination had been very important in getting clinical trials with this regimen started in a broad spectrum of cancers. Test results have been shown to correlate with patient response, time to progression and survival with this regimen.

Gemzar is already approved as a cancer drug in the treatment for NSCLC, pancreatic cancer and metastatic breast cancer. Clinical studies reviewed by the FDA showed that patients treated with a combination of Gemzar + Carboplatin expreienced a significant improvement in survival and response rates compared to Carboplatin alone.

Each "individual" may have different results.

RhodaLois

I had gemzar alone for one of my protocols and except for fatigue I tolerated it well. But I had another recurrence after I finished. My type of chronic Ovarian CA will be like that .... will keep getting recurrences, but Gemzar worked while I was on it. The tumor had been zapped. Then I got another one! C'est la vie.

Lynn1947

Greg,
I can't take any of the platinum chemos.
Thanks for the info.
Lynn

Lynn1947

The posts by gpawelski contain excellent explanations of assay testing. My oncologist believes that we are moving toward specialized chemo, determined through this process.
Lynn

Jennali

I am taking Gemzar in combination with Carboplatin. Only one dose so far, no problems.

I can't help wondering, if this combo is so great, how come my doc hasn't put me on it before now? Since being diagnosed with a recurrence a year ago, I have been on Doxil (didn't work), Topotecan (didn't work) and Taxol alone (didn't work).

Lynn, I sure hope the Gemzar will work for us both. You are a trooper.

Lynn1947

Jennali,
You have suffered through several treatments that did not work. If a tissue sample (obtained in surgery) had been sent for assay testing, you might have avoided taking Doxil, Topotecan, and Taxol. I understand from my oncologist that the general response rate to Gemzar is around 40%. I hope we are both in that percentage.
Lynn

MindifromCO

I am on Gemzar and Abraxine together and have been since April. Two Thursday's on, and one Thursday off. I have tolerated it very well and it has kept my cancer in check. The only thing is now it has plateaued and I think it has stopped working. Time to find another cocktail.

gpawelski

Mindi

Instead of "blindly" mixing and matching drugs to individual cancer patients, what would be more beneficial would be to sort out what's the best "profile" in terms of which patients benefit from one drug or any other drug. Can they be combined? What's the proper way to work with these drugs? If a drug works extremely well for a certain percentage of cancer patients, identify which ones. If one drug or another is working for some people (not average populations) then obviously there are others out there who would also benefit.

What's good for the group (population) may not be good for the individual, affirms that in the tactic of using "fresh" biopsied cells to predict which cancer treatments will work best for the individual patient (assay testing), patients would certainly have a better chance of success had their cancer been chemo-sensitive rather than chemo-resistant, where it is more apparent that chemotherapy improves the survival of patients, and where identifying the most effective chemotherapy would be more likely to improve survival.

AlexM06

Hi Lynn,

My chemotherapy treatments are a combination of Cisplatin and Gemzar. I get both chemotherapy agents on day one and day eight of my twenty-eight day cycle.

In Unity,
Alex

AlexM06

Hi Lynn,

My chemotherapy treatments are a combination of Cisplatin and Gemzar. I get both chemotherapy agents on day one and day eight of my twenty-eight day cycle.

In Unity,
Alex

CarolAnn1

I am on Gemzar--and only Gemzar. I began almost a year ago, after my cancer recurred (its platinum resistant) and I had been on Doxil for 15 rounds. I began with 3 weeks on (1ce a week) and 1 week off. It is such a bugger to the blood! My main side effect is tired, tired, tired. I get a shot of Aranesp (anti-anemia) and it helps. I teach full time, and I have found that timing is crucial to keep working. The first day following treatment, I'm good! Then about noon the next day, I begin to wilt. The next 2 days I sleep about 16 hours, and then start to perk back up. I am trying something new--Every other week. We'll see how that goes since my treatments have really been knocking me down lately. Feel free to contact me it you want to visit about this some more.
Best wishes,
CarolAnn

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