Avastin, Sugen (Su11248) And Onyx/Bayer Drug

Hi, I am 47 and have metastatic RCC to my lungs, and a tumor
in my kidney bed (my right kidney was removed in 7 months
ago). Interleukin was not successful for me at all, so I have just
begun Avastin treatments. This Thursday will be my second
treatment, with no serious side effects. If Avastin does not
work, I will be going to the cancer center at the University of
California, San Francisco, where they are conducting a Phase III
clinical trial on "the Sugen drug". Sugen was a company in
Burlingame, California that has been bought by Pfizer, but the
oncologists here refer to it as "the Sugen drug". The two
kidney cancer oncologists at UCSF are very excited about the
success rate of the Sugen drug in shrinking kidney cancer
tumors. It is a pill, as someone said, with minimal side effects.
The Sugen drugs has a 60-70% response rate - sometimes the
tumors stop growing but more often they begin to shrink and
decay. There are Sugen clinical trials all over the country right
now, and the best website is the National Cancer Institute
(cancer.gov, then click on the 'clinical trials' section).

The other kidney cancer drug in clinical trial is the Onyx drug.
Onyx has now merged with Bayer. This drug can be given as
"compassionate use", just as Avastin can. You don't have to be
in a clinical trial to get it. It has a smaller % of successful
response, but those that do respond do very, very well.

In addition to medical treatments I am very involved in beating
my cancer through nutrition and supplements. If anyone is
interested I can help you get started. Anne Frahm's book "A
Cancer Battle Plan" is how I got started. It is very Christian-
oriented, but don't let that throw you off if that bothers you.
Just a tip - adding flaxseed oil and taking Omega-3 fatty acid
supplements may help reduce tumors - it works with animals.
Nothing is proven with human beings yet, but the gist of most
of the nutrition material is that cancer is a disease of the
immune system and if we can build a strong immune system,
cancer cannot grow and thrive. There is also alot of discussion
about the fat around all our cells, not just cancer cells, and how
to reduce the spikes of sugar and insulin in our bodies to avoid
the build-up of fat around our cells.

Let me know if anyone needs support.

Lauren

Lauren,

Thank your for sharing this information. I see hope here for my sister.

For anyone who is concerned that the recommended book is Christian based.....not to fear. There is only one God.....it is just that we all see him through the limited eyes of the culture we were raised in. He exists for all people. I will remember all of you on this website in my conversations with Him.

Sallydee

My father has been diagnosed with RCC. He has undergone about six months of interferon injections as well as the Avastin treatment. He is involved in a phase III trial currently. I have had a very hard time even grasping the fact that he has the disease, let alone trying to deal with it. Everytime I try to talk to him to find out how he's feeling, he will never give me a straight answer. Though every time I see him, he looks more tired and has lost more weight. It is very frustrating because I do not know what I can do to help him, and he will not talk to me about it. The cancer has now infected his lungs and his bones. If you could offer any advice as someone going through this, I would appreciate it.

Jory