Tarceva question

Hi, my mom has Lung cancer NSC stage wet III B and has been received 1 cycle of chemo which was 6 chemo and 3 weeks each.The first two chemo did not work but has been working since the thrid one work but stopped working at last so her doctor suggested her to start on Tarceva with 100mg and start Tarceva 150 mg one month after. My mom has taken tarceva for almost two weeks, she has rash on her faces and has been suffering from Diarrhea. However, on these two days, she started to cough again and the pain on her back comes back. I am wondering if anyone knows if this is normal for her and how long will Tarceva normally start to work? Please help. Thanks!!

 

Louis

 

On 10/20/2009 louis1989 wrote:

Hi, my mom has Lung cancer NSC stage wet III B and has been received 1 cycle of chemo which was 6 chemo and 3 weeks each.The first two chemo did not work but has been working since the thrid one work but stopped working at last so her doctor suggested her to start on Tarceva with 100mg and start Tarceva 150 mg one month after. My mom has taken tarceva for almost two weeks, she has rash on her faces and has been suffering from Diarrhea. However, on these two days, she started to cough again and the pain on her back comes back. I am wondering if anyone knows if this is normal for her and how long will Tarceva normally start to work? Please help. Thanks!!

 

Louis

Hello, Im NOT an oncologist but I was told that if a rash has appeared it CAN be an indication that the Tarceva is working. I think Tarceva interferes with the cancers replication process so it cannot grow or slow its growth. Try Avastin, Altima, Cisplatin and tons of prayer. Make sure she is not a surgical candidate. Maybe radio-frequency alblation at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Pheonix or special radiation treatment at St. Marys Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia. Gotta have good insurance. Maybe a clinical trial somewhere. DONT GIVE UP, Mark, former caregiver

yes that is how tarceva acts, i am having a outbreak right now, blisters in my eyebrows and around my eyes, in my nose and sensitive skin everywhere,taste buds are sensitive too.  antibiotics are given for it.  i am on the 150 mgs.of tarceva.  i started on it slow i think it was 75mgs til those side effects went away and then they upped it again more side effects then it leveled out for some years all of a sudden i am getting break outs again...tarceva i am told is turning off the gene that makes the cancer, my doctor said that it is like controling my blood pressure, there are reseptors on cancer cell that tell them to reproduce this tarceva pushs those down into the cell so they can't reproduce. it is a targeted therapy, avistian goes thru the blood and destroys any groups of cell that are thinking about making a tumor, new tumors send out to the blood for blood vessels to supply the tumor, avistian destroys them too. erbutux strips protine off a cancer cell and distroys them. all these are targeted in different ways to kill cancer cells. pretty cool i think. god bless you  patti l

 

On 10/20/2009 louis1989 wrote:

Hi, my mom has Lung cancer NSC stage wet III B and has been received 1 cycle of chemo which was 6 chemo and 3 weeks each.The first two chemo did not work but has been working since the thrid one work but stopped working at last so her doctor suggested her to start on Tarceva with 100mg and start Tarceva 150 mg one month after. My mom has taken tarceva for almost two weeks, she has rash on her faces and has been suffering from Diarrhea. However, on these two days, she started to cough again and the pain on her back comes back. I am wondering if anyone knows if this is normal for her and how long will Tarceva normally start to work? Please help. Thanks!!

 

Louis

If she already has the rash and diarrhea, the tarceva is already working.  These are both very good signs.  I've been on tarceva almost 3 years, mostly at 150 mg except in the beginning when the dose had to be adjusted due to severe side effects.  If the sides get too bad, ask the onc to lower the dose and work back up to 150 as her body adjusts to it.  And lowering the dose will not hurt anything because although lower, it is still working in the body. 

The side effects usually diminish over time.  It is very important to drink a lot of fluids on tarceva and to stay away from grapefruit/grapefruit juice as  it tends to intensify the tarceva and causes worse sides.  It's in the literature.  It's also very important to take the tarceva the same time each day, either 1 hour before meals or 2 hours after for the same reason.

For the rash my onc prescribed clobetasol propionate cream 0.05% and it works very well.  It also helps with the itching that goes with the rash.  She can also keep Benadryl on hand for the itching.  For the diarrhea, I buy anti-diarrheal pills from the Dollar General Store, that's worked better for me than Immodium or any of the others.  If she gets nausea, I''ve found the prescription for Promethazine 25mg tablets worked best for me. 

Also, avoid all refined sugars (cake, pie, candy, etc.) as sugar feeds the cancer.  There are a lot of sugar free items on the market now days and you can't tell the difference.  My husband is diabetic so it was easy for me to get used to that because I just can't keep it in the house.

Good luck and God Bless.  Just don't give up and give the tarceva a chance.  The body will adjust in time.  I was given 6 months so I know for a fact that it does work. 

Hi,

My dad started tarceva 17 days ago but due to the rash, weakness, diahorria and being unable to eat since starting tarcea my dad has had to stop taking.

Was your rash and side effects very bad, my dad has been on 150mg from the beginning.

Louise.