Kidney Cancer, Concerning Sutent, Please Help

Hi:
My mother has cancer and has been sick for nearly 2 years.

I have 2 QUESTIONS concerning sutent, so please read the next lines. It would really mean a lot to me and my family.

It started with a tumor on the left kidney which was the size of a melon, and which unfortunately had spread metastases to her lungs. She started chemotherapy which helped. Afterwards she had a kidney operation.
After the operation she passed out and had cramps attack, nobody knew what was happening. The doctors meant it could be metastases, but they could not prove it. My mum woke up at two days after and had a small memory loss. But after a month she was her self again. 

Two month later in 2007 she was put into the hospital because she keept on vomiting and her body started to cramp. The doctors found out that she had a small tumor on the left side on the brain and decided to do surgery after two days.

Unfortunately this summer she started getting weird symptoms again, and they took her to the hospital. The doctor said that she again has metastases on the brain.

She started treatment after 2 weeks, which were radio therapy.
After getting her result for the treatment, the doctors told my parents that the treatment had help, but the metastases kept on coming back. Now they were placed on the lungs and the brain. (Its in the blood)

However, my mum will start Sutent treatment here next week.

My QUESTION 1 : Does anybody body known if this Sutent treatment helps on the brain??? I have read that it help on lungs and other parts of the body, but i can not find any information about if this drug help on the brain.

QUESTION 2: please write to me, if you have taken sutent and tell me about it. I would really make my life better and help my parents as well.

I hope You can help me,, and thanks in advance


Cathrine

Hello,

I hope your mom is doing well & hope that her sutent treatment is going well. My father has just been diagnosed with stage 4 clear cell RCC. He has just started sutent for a week now (so far so good but we'll have to see how he tolerates it). In response to your questions, here is what I have found through research:

1) Doctors are not sure how much the drug therapy (such as sutent or nexavar) works on the brain or spine; however there have been successes for other parts of the body. My father also has mets to the brain. In his case, they performed radiation to try and contain the brain tumors. 

 2) This is the official sutent site... gives good info on how sutent works and its side effects.

http://www.sutent.com/content/rcc_taking_sutent.jsp?setShowO

Hope this helps.

 Anulekha