Xeloda And Mesothelioma

Has anyone every tried xeloda with mesothelioma. I knew a man that was in a trial with this and it responded, he was only given it for 3 months. My mother in llaw has recently been diagnosed with this and there is not much out there for mesothelioma.
Thanks

I have not heard of this treatment. My father-in-law has peritoneal mesothelomia, cancer caused by abestos in the adominal area. His diagnosis was in June of 2005. He has been on a regime of Cisplatin and Alimta. What makes this treatment effective is the combo of these two types of chemo. He was fortunate enough to do 9 or 10 rounds. Eventually, everyone has to stop due to side effects such as neuropathy. In addition to the chemo tx. he saw Dr. Loggie in Nebraska who operated to remove as much cancer as possible. Once he removed the cancer Dr. Loggie heated the chemo therapy and circulated it though his entire abdominal area to kill more cells. Before surgery he had severe ascites (fluid h build up) and had to have it drained 3 times. The first time the drained the fluid they removed an 17 liters. The second time they removed 9 liters and I don't remember now how much they removed the third time. He had the surgery at the end of November and it is now June of 2006 and this has been either greatly reduced or eliminated. Dr. Sugarbaker does a surgery with the heated chemo therapy for those suffering from Plueral Mesothelomia. Just do a google search on Dr. Sugarbaker and his name will appear. There are two Dr. Sugarbaker's, they are brothers, one does the surgery for Plueral Mesothelomia the other does the surgery for Peritoneal Meso.

Due to neurotaphy and severe nausea caused by the cisplaitin, he is on Alimta alone. I do not know if Alimta alone has much benefit. If anyone has information on this I would love to hear from them. He has been living with us since his first chemo tx.

My mother-in-law will be starting chemo Monday, Alimta and cisplatin. Does anyone know how serious the side effects are? Do they loose hair, is the nausea bad?
Thank you

Thank you for your message. Her Meso is in the lung. Monday is her first treatment and the antiemetic they are going to give up front is Aloxi. New and for chemo especially, hope it works. This is a horable disease I lost my dad to it 13 years ago and they sure have not come far yet. PLEASE keep in contact and I hope all goes well. I will share any tips I get!!
Thank you

The Aloxi is good, but it was not enough for my family member. After the first treatment he was given the Emend, also new and specifically for chemo. Emend did not eliminate the nauseau but it lessened the impact. Not everyone will need this, but you won't know until after the first treatment. It was very expensive at first. Over the last few months the cost dropped. Sorry to hear that this is your second family member to experience this terrible disease. How was she exposed and how was your father exposed. You don't have to answer if this is too personal. My family member was exposed through his employment. I think he was also exposed from the time he was a young boy. There are not a lot of options but they are better than when your father became ill. There is more information about plueral meso. and better treatment options. Do a google search on Dr. Sugarbaker. He is doing a lot of research and attempting to find a cure. He has been treating this disease for many years and is having some good responses in terms of extending the lives of his patients. Good luck.

My father was exposed at his job, Texaco and we think my mother in law through laundering my father in law's clothes and also reinsulating older homes. I have heard a little about this Dr. Sugarbaker, have you dealt with him??
Thank you for all your help

No, I have not dealt with Dr. Sugarbaker because he only does the surgery for the Pleural Meso. My family member's meso is in the abdomen area which is called Peritoneal Meso. We used Dr. Loggie for the surgery. Dr. Sugarbaker has an excellent reputation and I would not hesitate to use him for the Pleural Meso. Hope you guys had a nice mother's day.