Dear Doctors , I haev been lazy in following up on new topics but I haev now two questions please
Since three weeks now I am not getting any Tarceva side effects ,at all , this has not been the case since I started on it I was wondering if I should beleased or not ...............
Secondly I have also started getting numbness in my right leg so my Doctors asked MRI for my spine , today I was told I have a new lesion in L5 vertebrae and it is pushing on the nerve , I have an apointment with My Oncologist Next Monday and I was wondering what treatment options are there , In the mean time the dosage for Gabapentine is bieng increased to nearly 80% of max dose , it is not fun my vision is getting blurred and I get twitching in my arms , also I am using A Fentalyne 25 µg/h ,,plus celebrex to the muscle nad bone pain .
Reply # - June 14, 2012, 11:23 AM
Reply To: nsclc stage 4 spine -mets
It has been noted on here many times that people take a break from tarceva then return to it with fewer side effects and it still works on stopping the cancer.
I'm not a doctor but/so the symptoms you've mentioned sound urgent and warrant a call to your oncologist at least or an emergency trip to hospital.
Reply # - June 14, 2012, 11:31 AM
Reply To: nsclc stage 4 spine -mets
Khaldoun, I hope you get your symptoms checked out first then come back and we will get this administrative junk fixed. Let me know when and I'll help you through the process if needed.
This is from the profile page of Khaldoun:
About Khaldoun
50 nonsmoker ,diagnosed June 2010 ,NSCLC stage 4 with both fumer bone mets , six rounds of Cisplatin , Taxotere & Avastin , had an operation to secure Fumer bones ,Six rounds of radiation , went on Tarceva for six months , after two months break from Tarceva had new lesions in two Vertebrae and an increase in the primary Cancer size , plus a small growth again in the left leg , did radiation for the leg ( now clear ) and had five rounds of radiation on the Vertebrae , have been back on Tarceva since Jan results showing stabilization of the cancer .
What will make this workable for the doctors is for you to go to your profile by clicking on your "username" to the left of your post above. copy your bio info and paste it on your "signature" at the bottom of the profile page and click submit. This will place your bio at the bottom of your posts. The doctors and others will be able to easily get a look at your background to put more context to your questions.
I'm sorry to make this more difficult than it already is but, we also need for your questions to be asked in the lung cancer forum so the doctors will see them. This forum is for web site issues.
At the top of every page is a column that says: About GRACE, Ask a question about ____ , ... Donate. Click on ask a question about and choose the lung cancer button from the drop down menu. That will take you to the proper forum to start your new topic. BTW, don't use the profile button on that column.
Reply # - June 15, 2012, 01:08 PM
Reply To: nsclc stage 4 spine -mets
Thanks catdander , for everything , it seems I wrote this with a lot of morphine influence , thanks for all the tips
Khaldoun
Reply # - June 15, 2012, 09:47 PM
Reply To: nsclc stage 4 spine -mets
Khaldoun,
Apologies -- I left a response yesterday that somehow never was retained. Anyway, the main points I wanted to make was that many people can do very well on EGFR inhibitors, even without experiencing a rash or other side effects. There is some correlation, but I am personally following several patients right now who have been doing exceptionally well for >6 months, or even for years, with barely any side effects at all.
Second, nerve compression is really an issue we like to address in a timely way -- it can worsen quickly, and damage can become irreversible if treatment isn't started promptly. The most common and definitive treatments are decompressive surgery or radiation. Steroids are often started immediately and can help, but they are not really a definite treatment, just temporizing.
Good luck.
-Dr. West
Reply # - June 17, 2012, 02:54 AM
Reply To: nsclc stage 4 spine -mets
Thank you Doctor West , I will be seeing my Oncologist as well as a spine specialist tomorrow , I hope all will be well .
God Bless
Khaldoun
+++++++++++++++++
50 nonsmoker ,diagnosed June 2010 ,NSCLC stage 4 with both fumer bone mets , six rounds of Cisplatin , Taxotere & Avastin , had an operation to secure Fumer bones ,Six rounds of radiation , went on Tarceva for six months , after two months break from Tarceva had new lesions in two Vertebrae and an increase in the primary Cancer size , plus a small growth again in the left leg , did radiation for the leg ( now clear ) and had five rounds of radiation on the Vertebrae , have been back on Tarceva since Jan results showing stabilization of the cancer .
Reply # - June 29, 2012, 02:16 PM
Reply To: nsclc stage 4 spine -mets
Hello Khaldoun,
My mother also has NSCLC with mets to her femur bone. We just found this out less than two weeks ago. She had to have rods placed in her leg and one in her arm for a mets that went there. My question to you is my mothers pain has gotten better slowly since the surgery. I dont understand why, if they didnt do a big resection of tumor why would her pain get better? I am thrilled obvioulsy that she is more comfortable, but can you explain this to me?
Thank you and God Bless.
Tiffany, loving daughter to Susan 64