ljgmalibu
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Posts:1
Hello,
After 4.5 yrs. on Tarceva/Avastin as my one treatment for stage IV lung cancer (adeno w/BAC features), EGFR +, it's time to move onto 2nd line therapy. Next week I am going on Carbo/Alimta (and scared of the side effects!) and my onc has told me to take folic acid 400mcg per day.
Looking through the vitamins I'm currently taking, I see that the B-Complex I'm on contains 400mcg folate. Are folate and folic acid the same thing? Is the 400mcg folate in the B-Complex sufficient? I saw in another post that Dr. West commented that taking more than 400mcg folic acid per day is not ideal either because it protects the cancer cells as well as the healthy cells. Any clarification on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Forums
Reply # - April 6, 2013, 07:02 PM
Reply To: Alimta & Folic Acid
Hello,
It's the same thing. If you're already getting 400 mcg/day via a multivitamin or other formulation, you should be fine.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - April 6, 2013, 09:56 PM
Reply To: Alimta & Folic Acid
Yes, it's the same, but the guidelines are for 350-1000 mcg per day, so even getting both together wouldn't be so bad. But no need to take both.
-Dr. West