Erbitux Side Effects

My father has stage IV base of tongue SCC.  He begins radiation tomorrow (M-F for seven weeks) and his weekly chemo treatments on Tuesday.  The chemo will be Erbitux.

Does anyone know what the side effects of Erbitux are?  Anyone with experience with this chemo treatment?

 Also, his doctor told me he will be given a shot of Ethyol before each treatment (radiation, I think).  Can you give me any information about Ethyol?

Thank you so much.  And, I am so inspired by your stories of courage.  God bless you all.

Maggie

Hi Maggie,

I had daily Erbitux (and Cisplatin) and daily Ethyol shots.

The Erbitux caused a huge outbreake of pimples on my chest, upper back, and worst of all my face (even inside my nose).  They were eventually cleared up by steroids and oral antibiotics (I took them through the end of treatment).  The Erbitux was also thought to have contributed to severe radiation burns on my neck which appeared primarily after the end of treatment.  I just used aloe cream on them and they healed fairly quickly.

The Ethyol was given daily by a shot in my upper arm (back side of my triceps in the fatty tissue).  It is intended to help save salivary function.  The shots were nauseating, however, and I took Zofran which worked pretty well for me.  My saliva is pretty good at this point - I'm 9 months out of treatment and take Evoxac (which is a saliva stimulant).  For me, I think it worked well.

You can search my other posts for more information.

Best wishes,

Chris