Tarceva

On 11/29/2007 Vette wrote:

I have been on Tarceva for 2 yrs. and am no longer taking the drug. I was wondering if anyone can answer some questions for me.? When will my body return to normal,?  When will I have no more diarrhea, will my hair start to grow, the splitting of my skin on my hands, dry mouth????  I am feeling great, but would love to stop taking lomotil. Thanks for any help. Vette

Hi, I hope you have found the answers to your questions and are by now feeling better. I have just been diagnosed with BAC and am starting Tarceva within the next two weeks. My oncologist told me there was no hair loss with this drug.  I am curious, did you do chemo? Why did you stop taking Tarceva?

Melzonamission in Ohio

Hi,Yes I did have Chemo, waited a couple of months, then went on 150mg of Tarceva, had a lot of diarrhea,perscribed Lomotil, 2 tablets before each meal, no fried or spicey foods.  Had some weight loss, so the 2nd year I was on 100 mg tablets and it was much better.  I just had a PET & CT scan and will get the results in 2 days.  This is routine, am feeling great. I had lung cancer NSCLC & squamous cell in the same lobe. I had lost my hair with the chemo and it was growing back when I went on the Tarceva,the hair is growing very slowly.  I did not lose hair with Tarceva. I came off of the drug because this was my plan of treatment from the beginning.  Have a very positive mind and you can get thru Tarceva. It is a drug that is very hard on the skin.  I got cuts on my fingers by the nails and used liguid bandaid. For my dry body skin I had a perscription of Ammonium Lactate 12%, or used Hydrocortisone 1% at drug store,use Dove or Aveno in the shower, Biotene mouth wash, and I chewed a lot of gum, very dry mouth. I used a natural body cream Honey Meil which I found to be the best. Scented creams don't work.  Good luck to you, keep in touch.  What is BAC????  You are in my prayers  Vette

Hi, I see. I think the treatment plan for BAC is a different regiment because it isn't as responsive to traditional chemo. My oncologist said if it is working, I'll probably never go off of it. BAC is Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. 

Thank you for the skin tips... funny, I just purchased two bath sets of honey meil off HSN or QVC. My 3 yr old son has ezema really bad and I thought we would try it for his skin.  The doc told me to plant a good SPF 50 (or greater) by my bedside and in my purse so I could smear it on several times a day so, my girlfriend found me a Neutrogena SPF 75 without fragrance.  I'll look for the mouthwash you mentioned.

I pray your scan is all clear and you have a Merry Christmas.

Mel

Mel I got the result of my PET/CT scan today and everything is GREAT.  It was the Pet scan that  found my cancer in 2005.  When you start your chemo the dr may give you some anti-nausea medication that you take for a couple of days after treatment.  Even if you are feeling fine, take the pills, because if you do not take the pill and get nausea, the pill will not help at all!!!

Happy holidays, good luck  Vette