Lung Cancer Stage 4 And On Alimta?

My dad was diag with stage 4 lung and rib cancer in Dec 2005 and was treated 2 months with Abraxane and Carboplatin to find out that it grew. He just had his first treatment of Alimta and was wondering if anybody has been on this and if so if they would give me some ideas about how it was. Thank-you!!!

My husband has nsc lung ca; he is not on alimta now, but may be in the future. I just googled it and it took me to the manufacturer website which has lots of information.
Let me know how it goes for your dad.
my prayers are with you
neeharika

Thank-you Neeharika for responding. I have looked up some information on Alimta but it just always sounds better from somebody who has actually been on it instead of the what could happen. He had his first treatment with Alimta on March 9th and was fine for the first day but then he became worse. He gets to the point of saying he can't go though this. Its so sad to see your loved one go though this and not having experienced lung cancer before it is hard. He seemed to be better today but he has to go weekly to the treatment center for either labs or a Procrit shot. Not to mention he had to go though this with his dad who had prostrat cancer. I hope all is well with your husband, did he just find out about his cancer? Feel free to keep in touch if you just need someone to chat with and I will keep you and yours in my thoughts and prayers.
Diana

Hi Diana,
No, my husband is not new at this. He was dx'd in 7/05 and went through two different types of traditional chemo plus radiation. His reaction to traditional chemo was dreadful. So now he is on tarceva and is stable. But the tarceva is not going to work forever, so they are talking about alimta next.
I am telling you this b/c it seems you are relatively new at this. So the fact that your dad has to go to the center almost daily for shots and such is good, because they are doing a thorough job giving him the necessary additional medications which make it easier on his system to deal with the chemo. Most people experience some side effects some more than others. He is almost bound to feel bad in the days after the chemo but mostly should feel better a few days later.
I know that life is difficult right now for you and your loved ones. I will keep you in my prayers. By the way the www.thewellnesscommunity.org has excellent on-line support groups for patients and also for caregivers. Maybe you want to look into this. I will keep you in my prayers.
neeharika

I am currently on Altima, I will have my 4th treatment tomorrow Friday the 31, I do not know if it is helping yet no test yet. I will ahve chest- xray tomorow. They say it is pretty well tolerated by most. For me however It makes me pretty naushish for about a week and just don't feel that great on it. but not that bad either. You dad will take oreal sterids the day before and the day after treatment. Not sure if it is the Alitma or Steroids but the constipation is really bad. Not sure if any of this helped. Let me know if I can answer any other questions. Sorry to hear about your dad.

Hello Donna,
Thank-you for the response to my e-mail. My dad had his X-ray today, 2wks after his 1st treatment. They said that they would be able to get results that early.(seems to early to me) I am praying to hear good news next Thursday when he goes to see the Doctor. The way the nurse talks makes it sound like this Alimta is only good for a couple of months and told us that we don't realize how bad this is. So what do you do but hope they know what they are doing. This is such a sad thing to go through and makes me feel so helpless. My dad started getting sick on about the 3rd day after his treatment and has not been feeling very well since. The last couple of days have been better for him but I think alot of it is because he is on so many drugs. I hope all goes well for you and that you get excellant test results. I wish you well and will keep you in my prayers.
Thank-you!
Diana

Hi Diana,
I hope your dad does well o the Alimta and I hope it works for longer than 2 months.
Keep us posted.
You are in my prayers.
Neeharika

Hello,
The news is not looking good here. They told us that his cancer has grown considerable and the Alimta has not helped any. They are possibly going to try a new experimental pill depending on how the CAT Scan comes out. I just wish I could find a place to call and take him to find something to help with this. I just don't even know where to start.
How have both of you been? I hope you both have better news than I do. I will keep you in my prayers because believe me I know how difficult this is. I don't know how I could possible have any tears left, but I do.
Take Care,
Diana

Hello,
Please see the message I sent,,,, I don't know how to send to two people at once.
Thanks!
Diana

I have been taking Almita since last May. I was diganosed 19 months ago.