Iressa Medication For Nsclc

I am interested in exchanging information with other cancer patients who are taking Iressa medication for non small cell lung cancer. I have been taking Iressa successfully for 19 months now, with my cancer in remission for the past 14 months.

Bob:
I was very interested to see your message. I asked my doctor about it and he said it wasn't as good as they had expected it to be and he didn't think it would help. What stage are you. Your results sounds great. I will pray that your good results holds out. I would like to know where you are from and if you are in a trial.
Sheilah

I went thru two sessions of chemo with no result. I am now in my second month of Iressa.
The tumors are shrinking and I have just had another CATSCAN. Hopefully it will continue.

Alan B.

Sheila,
My Dr. said the same thing but after failing two lots of chemo he said that there was a 10% chance I might benefit. Guess what. The tumors in both lungs started shrinking and I am feeling a lot better.

Alan B.

My dad is going through his third round of chemo. The last two tests have showed no growth of the tumors but my dad is very down because the chemo is not shrinking it. His doctor said that they may think about an alternative but he wasn't too encouraging about Iressa. Should we pursue Iressa or go with what the Doctor says.

kristi s.

I was diagnosed with stage 4 nsclc in 03/04. I did taxol and carboplatin and my scans revealed more cancer in my bones and lymph nodes. I fought to get on iressa because of much research and many phones calls and now I am on taxotere and iressa. I did 3 weeks on and 1 off of tax while taking iressa each day. I just started 2nd round of 3 weeks and will get ct and bone scans on august 12th. There are many paths to take and I will find out in 3 weeks if I’m the right one this time. I am also changing my diet drastically to enhance the cancer kill effect of the chemo and iressa. No coffee, soda, sugar, white flour, dairy, red meat and so on. I have added things like brocco sprouts, brassica green and black teas, astragalas, juicing with lemons, oranges, and grapefruit. Also, maitake and shitake mushrooms. I keep a positive attitude and pray each night and keep depression at bay because it won't help the fight. God luck and don’t hesitate to be proactive with your doctors and the net is a great source of info!

Bill

Hi Bill
I am on Iressa and I have read that grapefruit can interact negatively with the drug. Put in a search on "Iressa grapefruit" and you will be able to read what I have read on this topic. Keep the faith. Tammy D

Hi Tammy!
Thank you for the input. I did what you said and the info I found backs up what you said about Iressa and grapefruit. My last juicing - no grapefruit! Knowledge is power, and we all need lots of power to beat this disease that destroys the very fiber of our being. I am documenting everything I'm doing so that when I beat this I can first give others hope and second give them a possible path. One of the frustrating things for me since I found out I have stage IV NSCLC is finding info on survivers and the path they took to success. Info like diets,supplements, and therapies. People are surviving cancer with many different paths and it would be nice to see and consider them for personal use in this great battle. Keep the faith and a positive attitude!

Thanks - Bill S.

Hi Bob
I'm new on Iressa. (Since 9/04) Let me know if you're still on it and how it's going. I'm glad to hear you're doing so well.

Tammy

Hi Tammy,
Yes, I'm still on Iressa and still in remission since April 2003. I'm getting along well on the medication, though I have some side effects like dry itchy skin for which I use an over the counter moisturerizer. I'm in a clinical trial program at Duke University Medical Center. Let me know if you have any questions.

Bob W.