Iressa,Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Hello everybody, I've just read iressa is being taken off of the market but I think my husbands story needs to be heard. He was diagnosed in October 03 with stage III squamous cell carcinoma. He went through allot of chemo and radiation all of it to no avail. He had one tumor when he started the radiation split it to two the Doctor said. The chemo he tried he was having bad reactions and the cancer was still growing. This went on for 6months. They gave him 1 year to live. In February 04 He made a decision, I'm going back to work he said and what life I have left we're going to enjoy it. Everywhere we turned Doctors were saying Iressa won't work for you. He tried all other chemos like he was supposed to and they didn't work. In April 04 He started Iressa and he went back to work. We did not know whether it was going to work or not we just took a chance. We went to the Doctors office 3mos later for CT results. We were not expecting what we heard next. The tumors were shrinking. His Doctor was simply astounded. But he became depressed more and more when it got closer to CT scans. In august04 still shrinking. I began to notice that I couldn't feel the tumor in his neck anymore at all. We were getting ready for Christmas and wait for word on CT scans. He had went to Doctor thinking cancer had spread to his other lung because of pain on his right side. He was not supposed to see Doctor that day, but Doctor surprised him by telling him his cancer was GONE... As of now he has permanent nerve damage to his left side but no cancer. Continues to work but it is a struggle. He has a lot of weak spells caused by iressa the only symptom he ever had. But I personal do not think he would be alive now if not for iressa and God. Because throughout this whole struggle we prayed allot and still do. The power of prayer can do wonders. I just wanted to get his story out there so that if there is anybody else out there who is going through this they know they are not alone. Even though they are taking Iressa off market I’m happy to say that my husband is one of the 10 percent it helped. Thanks for listening, Diann P.s. We were married July 22 this year. It was a wedding he was not supposed to attend.

I was surprised to come across your message about Iressa and squamous cell cancer as it applies to my husband, who has been taking Iressa for about 2 months. You've offered some hope for some (we know it's been taken off the market, which wasn't exactly cheering).

My husband's main complaint is malaise (flu like symptoms), which leave him unable to take part in any activities. He's just plain miserable, feeling so sick all the time - (has lost 30 pounds too, from a norma slender weight of 173). He tried prednisone, but that just left him feeling agitated (even a very low dose).

Would appreciate hearing how your husband is doing now - any experiences with Iressa, etc. Would also like to hear from anyone else who is trying Iressa and/or is dealing with overcoming malaise.
Thanks!

Hello llene, I just read your message and will try to help in any way I can. First, I talked to my husband about the Flu like symptoms, and he says that if your husband went through prior chemo,radiation that you will feel the weakness nausea from that for at least 4mos afterward.As for weight loss, Rick [myhusband] says that if I didn't tell him it was time to eat and make sure he ate something he wouldn' have ate at all. I always made him Boost plus milkshakes with his favorite Ice cream,if he didn't eat alot. But any amount of food that you get in them is better than none. I still have trouble out of him eating so he is still on his Boost.He is still on Iressa,he still gets very weak at times, is still working but as of now he has been out of work for 2wks due to that. His Doctor has no answer why he is still weak after a year. He has blood work done and its always normal. He doesn't have vomiting, diarhea or rash. It's just one of the mystery symptoms I guess. Well, I hope I have helped , if there is any other questions you have don't hesitate to ask. God be with you and your Family. Karen