My mum (just turned 60) was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma of right lung T3N2M0 Stage III A. She also has DVT and was not considered for surgery. Chemo was refused too because she developed anemia and Hipoalbuminemia and generally feels too quite weak after all the antibiotics, warfarine (for DVT) and Videothoracoscopic talc pleurodesis to stop fluid coming back to her lung. Doctor has prescribed Tarceva and she's been on 100mg for 10 days now. No side effects, apart from fatigue and tiredness. Cough has nearly stopped and breathing is more even. We have seen doctor again and all of a sudden he seemed very pessimistic and said that Tarceva does not seem to be working (after 9 days only) since lump in her lymph node had not gone down. My question is - is it right to give up so quickly? Initially we were told that she should be on Tarceva for about 2 months to see significan results. Has everybody had either very fast improvement or ...? Please, share your experience!
Thanks!
Vinetta