Subject: Chemo What has worked for you?
Date: 02/12/2008
Help, anyone have suggestions for side effects of Gemzar. What has worked for you. Thank you, eaglessoar
Subject: RE: Chemo What has worked for you?
Date: 02/12/2008
On 2/12/2008 eaglessoar wrote: Help, anyone have suggestions for side effects of Gemzar. What has worked for you. Thank you, eaglessoar
Hey Eaglessoar, You may be in the wrong message center. This is bile duct cancer and as I understand it...Gemzar is a chemo treatment for Lung Cancer...Breast Cancer...and/or Pantcreatic Cancer and in some cases Ovarian Cancer. You may find more help if you click the appropriate items. Good Luck with your search. Leonard
Subject: RE: Chemo What has worked for you?
Date: 02/13/2008
On 2/12/2008 Solutions wrote: On 2/12/2008 eaglessoar wrote: Help, anyone have suggestions for side effects of Gemzar. What has worked for you. Thank you, eaglessoar
Hey Eaglessoar, You may be in the wrong message center. This is bile duct cancer and as I understand it...Gemzar is a chemo treatment for Lung Cancer...Breast Cancer...and/or Pantcreatic Cancer and in some cases Ovarian Cancer. You may find more help if you click the appropriate items. Good Luck with your search. Leonard
Gemzar is used in bile duct cancer! There is nothing else!
Subject: RE: Chemo What has worked for you?
Date: 02/14/2008
On 2/13/2008 8MJM8 wrote: On 2/12/2008 Solutions wrote: On 2/12/2008 eaglessoar wrote: Help, anyone have suggestions for side effects of Gemzar. What has worked for you. Thank you, eaglessoar
Hey Eaglessoar, You may be in the wrong message center. This is bile duct cancer and as I understand it...Gemzar is a chemo treatment for Lung Cancer...Breast Cancer...and/or Pantcreatic Cancer and in some cases Ovarian Cancer. You may find more help if you click the appropriate items. Good Luck with your search. Leonard
Gemzar is used in bile duct cancer! There is nothing else! Hello, When bileduct cancer was recognized by my husband and it turned out they could not take it away by surgery, our specialists (we live in the Netherlands) also talked about chemo, namely Gemzar. The told us that in fact, for this type of cancer, there is no good chemo treatment. Gemzar could only be a possible help when there were more metastases. Mind the word "possible". They also said that the quality of life would deteriorate, using Gemzar. So my husband decided not to use it and up till now the quality of his life is very good. May be this will help you decide. Every case is different, because every human being is different. Sometimes it helps to have the opinion and experience of other people. I do wish you all the best and strength in your fight. Iris.
Subject: RE: Chemo What has worked for you?
Date: 02/14/2008
Gemzar combined with 5FU is what was used to help my husband. He wasn't able to have the resection surgery because the cancer had spread. There isn't a chemo drug for bile dust cancer, but the oncologist have found that Gemzar, sometimes combined with other chemo drugs work best. Everyone is different - how they and their cancer react to the chemo. Light and small meals can help with the vomitting/nausa. But sometimes you just don't feel like eating anything. I've actually thrown out a roast that was cooking when my husband told me the smell was making him sick. Also fevers and chills are a problem. My husband's skin would be hot to the touch, but he wouldn't be running a fever.....later an abcess was found. He would also get riggers - uncontrollable chills. I'd put him in a hot shower to try to get him warm. In his 3rd to 4th month of treatment - 3weeks on; 1 week off...by the time we would get home he would be in a state of confussion - not knowing what was going on or what to do. At first these states were full of anger, but later these states became more emotion filled - crying and scared ( for both of us) This is a very horrible cancer. My husband and I battle it for 10.5 months. We both fought long and hard - every second of every day, but we lost our battle on Jan 14, 2008. He was only 45 years old. Continue to hope for the best and ask questions - don't be afraid of the answers! I wish our doctors had been truthful with us - they continued to tell us the cancer had not grown - big fat lie - which we found out after we went back to our original doctors that cared about my husband...he wasn't just a number to them. Do take care. Still greiving, and will for the rest of my life on Earth. I miss him so much! TnFishersWife
Subject: RE: Chemo What has worked for you?
Date: 02/14/2008
Hi sweety im am so sorry I had colon cancer They took 14 inches of my colon and 6 inches of my small intestins; plus 2 pulps; The first doctor i had treated mr with folfox 5 and i was on it for 3 days. it was too hard for my system i had a reaction to it .I changed to another doctor because i didnt think they cared about me.my new doctor put me on a lower dose without a pump and i am doing fine.I do know that i would have never made it on that dose.I though i was soposed to be sick the hole time but i really dont think so now. We really need a good doctor when we have cancer to answer any question we have and be careing.jean'
Subject: RE: Chemo What has worked for you?
Date: 02/16/2008
On 2/14/2008 TnFishersWife wrote: Gemzar combined with 5FU is what was used to help my husband. He wasn't able to have the resection surgery because the cancer had spread. There isn't a chemo drug for bile dust cancer, but the oncologist have found that Gemzar, sometimes combined with other chemo drugs work best. Everyone is different - how they and their cancer react to the chemo. Light and small meals can help with the vomitting/nausa. But sometimes you just don't feel like eating anything. I've actually thrown out a roast that was cooking when my husband told me the smell was making him sick. Also fevers and chills are a problem. My husband's skin would be hot to the touch, but he wouldn't be running a fever.....later an abcess was found. He would also get riggers - uncontrollable chills. I'd put him in a hot shower to try to get him warm. In his 3rd to 4th month of treatment - 3weeks on; 1 week off...by the time we would get home he would be in a state of confussion - not knowing what was going on or what to do. At first these states were full of anger, but later these states became more emotion filled - crying and scared ( for both of us) This is a very horrible cancer. My husband and I battle it for 10.5 months. We both fought long and hard - every second of every day, but we lost our battle on Jan 14, 2008. He was only 45 years old. Continue to hope for the best and ask questions - don't be afraid of the answers! I wish our doctors had been truthful with us - they continued to tell us the cancer had not grown - big fat lie - which we found out after we went back to our original doctors that cared about my husband...he wasn't just a number to them. Do take care. Still greiving, and will for the rest of my life on Earth. I miss him so much! TnFishersWife
Dear Tn, My heart goes out to you tonight. I am so sorry to hear that your husband lost the battle, and so young. No words from caring folks can comfort you in this time of sadness and loss. If you have any interest in what God says about loss and sadness, I would encourage you to look at Psalms 91, as well as many other comforting passages. This doesn't bring back your love, but it can help you to feel closer to him as you move closer to your God. My sister quotes the passage that goes something like this; I look to the hills from whence cometh my strength, and God is my refuge and my strength, a very present help in trouble. Thank you for your advice and help in understanding chemo side effects and how to overcome some of the. Blessings to you, My sister's voice eaglessoar
Subject: RE: Chemo What has worked for you?
Date: 02/16/2008
On 2/12/2008 Solutions wrote: On 2/12/2008 eaglessoar wrote: Help, anyone have suggestions for side effects of Gemzar. What has worked for you. Thank you, eaglessoar
Hey Eaglessoar, You may be in the wrong message center. This is bile duct cancer and as I understand it...Gemzar is a chemo treatment for Lung Cancer...Breast Cancer...and/or Pantcreatic Cancer and in some cases Ovarian Cancer. You may find more help if you click the appropriate items. Good Luck with your search. Leonard
Actually, Bile Duct Cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) with mets to liver (adenocarcinoma) is treated, at least in this case the same as if it were pancreatic cancer. In fact, pathology indicates favoring cholangiocarcinoma but not definite. GI doctor favors pancreatic cancer, as our aunt passed with pancreatic cancer in 2001, and the examination of the biopsies didn't totally confirm bile duct cancer. My sister just had the plastic stent replaced in her common bile duct, where a tumor is compressing it and is wrapped around the head of the pancreas, with a stainless stent on Friday, and thankfully she is feeling much better. She has undergone two chemo treatments of Gemzar so far and hopefully can complete the regimen of 7 wks on one week off then three on-three off and so on. We recognize that if it is bile duct cancer it is rare and difficult to treat. Her cancer is inoperable, so resection is not an option...chemo is the only treatment along with our hope and prayers, and her positive attitude. She is a strong lady and as she says, if she lives she lives unto the Lord, if she dies, she dies unto the Lord. She is strong which really makes it easier for her family of four children and grandchildren. The best to you and your wife, which I think of often as I do for all those who I read about on this site. There is so much unknown about the cancer my sister has, and whatever I can learn about it is valuable to me..thank you for your input and shared knowledge with the folks on this site. Best to you, My sister's voice eaglessoar
Subject: RE: Chemo What has worked for you?
Date: 02/16/2008
On 2/12/2008 Solutions wrote: On 2/12/2008 eaglessoar wrote: Help, anyone have suggestions for side effects of Gemzar. What has worked for you. Thank you, eaglessoar
Hey Eaglessoar, You may be in the wrong message center. This is bile duct cancer and as I understand it...Gemzar is a chemo treatment for Lung Cancer...Breast Cancer...and/or Pantcreatic Cancer and in some cases Ovarian Cancer. You may find more help if you click the appropriate items. Good Luck with your search. Leonard
My sister has been diagnosed with Bile Duct Cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), and is being treated with Gemzar. We asked the oncologist about a combination of chemo treatments such as Gemzar and Xeloda and other combinations, but Gemzar was recommended alone, as the oncologist said the research doesn't show an improved outcome with two chemo drugs versus Gemzar alone for this cancer....?? John's Hopkins oncologists recommend Gemzar and Xeloda for pancreatic and bile duct cancers unless the bilirubin level is high, which is the case for my sister. But now that her stent is replaced with a larger stainless stent the bilirubin may improve. Not sure how this will effect the chemo regimen, but think it won't at this point. Praying for a miracle and loving my sister....just spent two weeks with her. What a blessing! Blessings to you and your wife My sister's voice eaglessoar
Subject: RE: Chemo What has worked for you?
Date: 02/19/2008
On 2/14/2008 jean7 wrote: Hi sweety im am so sorry I had colon cancer They took 14 inches of my colon and 6 inches of my small intestins; plus 2 pulps; The first doctor i had treated mr with folfox 5 and i was on it for 3 days. it was too hard for my system i had a reaction to it .I changed to another doctor because i didnt think they cared about me.my new doctor put me on a lower dose without a pump and i am doing fine.I do know that i would have never made it on that dose.I though i was soposed to be sick the hole time but i really dont think so now. We really need a good doctor when we have cancer to answer any question we have and be careing.jean'
Thank you, Jean, for your reply. My sister is getting chemo once a week for 7 wks, a drug called Gemzar (gemcitabine) and is
tolerating it fairly well, but does have some nausea and takes
Compazine, and anti-nausea (steroid) medication they give her through IV prior to
the chemo. She has had some headaches, but not as severe as the
first chemo treatment, same for fever and chills. She also has some back pain, not sure if that is
the cancer or the chemo or some of both, but treating with pain killer. Something remarkable is the amount of mucous she brings up, coughing, gag reflex and a ton of mucuos. Now on Reglan which is helping. Anyone else find mucous a problem?, I'd be interested in what you have learned. The best to you, Jean, and so very sorry about your husband. Blessings to you. My sister's voice eaglessoar
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