rebecca2015
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Posts:19
Hi,
My boyfriend has been on Traceva since April 8th. He has gotten alot of rashes in his face, neck and chest area. Last week the rashes moved down to the abdominal area and he started having rib pain. Today the rash has moved down to the stomach area and he is feeling the pain there. He has gone to see his oncologist and we are waiting for the CT scan approval from his insurance company. I was wondering if anyone has experience these symptoms with Tarceva. The waiting process is very worrisome. My feel is that there is progression or his liver has been severely damaged.
I really appreciate your responses.
Forums
Reply # - June 12, 2015, 08:01 AM
Hi Rebecca,
Hi Rebecca,
I'm sorry that your boyfriend's symptoms are causing you such worry. In the context of an existing cancer diagnosis, it is typical to assume that any new symptom reflects cancer progression. I did that plenty of times during my wife's illness. But once bone metastases are present, even with effective treatment pain can persist, and Zometa (zoledronic acid) itself can cause bone pain.And Tarceva can cause gastrointestinal discomfort. I think it's unlikely that there is "serious liver damage", especially if he has seen his oncologist and had a blood draw, which would tend to show abnormalities in his liver function values.
Since there are less common but serious side effects which are possible, in addition to the possibility of cancer progression, it is good that he is getting this checked out. Please let us know what you find out. In the meantime, please be assured that there are likely explanations for these symptoms other than what you fear.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - June 20, 2015, 11:21 PM
Thank you, JimC, I want to
Thank you, JimC, I want to update this post in case others read it in the future. My boyfriend got a CT scan, an X-ray and blood test to find the cause of the stomach and rib pain. Nothing was found. The pain is still there, but a little less. The doctor did not recommend anything. We think it maybe side effect from treatment or some type of inflammation. He will have a bone scan this Wednesday. I will keep the post updated if there is any change. I've found these posts to be very useful and hope this post could be useful in some way. The rash seems to stay in the upper abdomen and above.