On 6/23/2007
Chessie wrote:
On 12/10/2006
The Daughter wrote:
Hi, I've been doing research on the Internet for my Mom who has lung cancer and is taking Tarceva. She's been taking it for about 8 months with great results. Unfortunately, she does have side effects - severe itchy-dry skin, severe diarreha with abdominal pains and fatigue. I've found two helpful websites besides this one that I thought I'd pass along in hopes that they'd help you also. For great information about skin care for those taking Tarceva:
http://www.practicaltruisms.com/GoodSkin.html and for any questions you may have:
http://onctalk.com Good luck to you all!
Hi, I've been taking Tarceva for several months and in the beginning had a terrible rash and diarrhea. The doctor prescribed a cream called clobetasol propionate 0.05%. Once applied, the rash vanished in two days; I couldn't believe it. I just applied it each time the rash started and it disappeared. The doctor also prescribed hydroxyzine hcl 25 mg to take for the itching. That worked also. As for the diarrhea, I bought an over the counter Anti-Diarrheal pill and as soon as it started I took 2 pills If it continued, I took 2 more as directions say. That stopped it. I also found that wearing panty liners helped if I was away from home. The side affects are a lot to live with, but I had my 2nd PET scan yesterday and the tumor is not growing, in fact it has shrunk some. So it was well worth it. Hope this helps. Good Luck and God Bless. Nancy
Regarding stomach ailments, Mom was prescribed Protonix. It really worked to control the stomach ailments. Her rash progressed so much that she was put on Tetracycline temporarily to get it under control. Now that she is off chemo, we are hoping that the rash will subside.