Gemzar

Has anyone had any experience with Gemzar? My husband will start treatment next week for unresectable stage IV pancreatic cancer. It will have to be given in very small doses since he is also on dialysis. Thank you. Lynn

Gemzar is the first drug to show a survival advantage in pancreatic cancer. The side affects could include nausea, a rash and fever. Stage 4 PC has a poor prognosis, but Gemzar is worth a try.

Thank you for your response. We are very aware of the poor prognosis, unfortunately, but we too think its worth a try. Our oncologist is very closed off to nutritional supplements and even says that anti-oxidants could interfere with the effectiveness of chemotherapy. I am not happy about his very traditional approach but my husband has confidence in him so I guess that is the course we will follow, at least initially.

My husband took 4 treatments of gemzar and had no side effects at all. He had to take 4 hours of fluids via IV before the gemzar to protect his kidneys. His cancer (pancreatic IV) got no larger but got no smaller either.

Thank you so much for your response. My husband is already in dialysis so protecting his kidneys is not an issue. I sure hope this works. Lynn

My wife has had stage 4 pancreatic cancer since May 2003....
There is no one cure for cancer. If You have a good Oncologist and a computer I belive you can extend and enjoy life for a longer time than the cancer tables give you. My belief is that if you have a belief in God, good nutrition and the right choice of vitamins and herbs..... The chemo Dr. or the maker of the chemo can give you info on which pills work against the chemo. My wife has had her chemo quit working a year ago but her vitamins and herbs seem to be carrying her along quite well...If you need info on the vitamins herbs and help for an upset stomach,Please email me.. I could then give you my phone number....

My mom has stage 1v pc with a dx october 2004 - we have had great response with avastin/gemzar but most recently spread to her liver so we are trying 5fu with xeloda. She can't tolerate this combo. We were told of a med hydrazine sulfate that has worked wonders on some people. Do you or anyone out there either know of this or had any experience on this.

hydrazine has been around for a long time. It is available as a dietary supplement but is NOT FDA approved for any cancer treatment. There have been clinical trials with hydrazine in the past but those were inconclusive and I believe have all been stopped. Here is a NCI link which talks more about hydrazine.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/hydrazinesulfate/

Hi Lynn...my name is Russ. I am a five year stage III pancreatic cancer survivor. I feel so blessed to be alive today. I was initially treated with 5fu for 24 hours a day, for 5 weeks straight. I also had radiation 5 days a week during the same 5 weeks. It was devastating to say the least. Then I was treated with Gemzar, (gemzitabene), for 9 weeks, only one day a week. I firmly believe that this aggressive treatment, and the prayers of all my family and friends has allowed me to be here today. It is so hard for me to differentiate the side effects from chemo or radiation because I had both at the same time, especially since I had chemo 24 hours a day. Today I suffer from diabetes, (due to losing 40%of my pancreas), I also suffer from fatigue, neuropathy, and pain. But these small inconveniences pale in comparison to what other people are going through. I will include your husband in my prayers...and tell him to never give up, because there is always hope. I once read that...hope is the last candle fluttering in the darkness while all the others have gone out. As far as outside or alternative treatments go...I didn't use any. Like your husband I prefer to leave it in the hands of the experts. But on the other hand there are people who swear by alternative treatments. Keep in touch and please feel free to contact me at anytime. If you would prefer you may use my home email address of --- Message edited by CancerCompass staff: for personal protection, email address removed. Please review CancerCompass Member Guidelines at http://www.cancercompass.com/common/guidelines.html ---...or you can use CancerCompass. Also feel free to ask me any question you would like...Best Regards to you and your husband, Russ

Thanks for your kind note, Russ.

Mark had an abdominal CT scan last Wednesday which, when compared to the one he had 5 weeks ago, at the time of the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, showed "much more metastasis to the liver". This information, in addition to the fact that Mark is truly miserable, agitated, confused, etc., has brought us (the doctors and me) to the point of deciding to discontinue dialysis and to allow Mark to drift comfortably into unconsciousness. It was a terribly difficult decision for me. I so very much wanted to have more time with him but I knew it wouldn't be fair to him to make him go through all this only to meet with certain, perhaps painful, death in the very near future.

When we got the pancreatic cancer diagnosis, I made three promises to Mark: 1) that I would never leave him, 2) that I would always be so very glad that we met 4 1/2 years ago, and 3) that I wouldn't let anyone hurt him. Up until today, I had kept the first two promises. Now I feel that I have kept all three.

I almost can't bear to think of what my life will be like without my beloved Mark. He has left his unique "footprints" all over my heart, soul, and mind. He taught me about music, real estate, and investments. Perhaps more importantly, he taught me about courage, dignity, and generosity. We loved each other unabashedly and without reservation. I miss him so very much already.

With love and countless tears,

Lynn

My beloved husband died on Dec. 24th, 2005. He fell about on Dec. 1, broke the head of his femur, and underwent hip replacement surgery. He never had a chance to get started on Gemzar.