Hello,
My father is suffering with stage IV cancer, Lung Adenocarcinoam with Brain Metastasis.
Six sessions were planned for chemotherapy which were to be given in six months.. Drug carboplatin -150mg, pemetrexed -500mg was given. However, only 5 sessions could be given.
Though his BP problem was solved, and he has stopped taking BP medicines. We are not sure whether this is because of chemo medicines.
Because of weakness sixth session could not be given.
Symptoms of the brain tumour (like forgetfulness) started coming up.
Doctor prescribed Erlocip for the treatment. For ten days it was given, the brain symptoms had reduced. However he had cough, and problems related to digestion.
Because of these we went to the doctor and he stopped this medicine, according to him the medicine does not have any effect.
And started giving palliative treatment. He has given these medicines: voveran sr 100 and serenace 1.5mg. however after stopping Erlocip his condition worsened. The symptoms of brain tumour were coming up again .
Now we have again started erlocip along with voveran and serenace. We have not informed doctor about this.
Please suggest what should be done in such a case.
Doctor has not done the CT scan even once during this duration, even though we tried to convince him a lot. So we are not sure what’s the state of the tumours.
If we stop erlocip then what other options do we have?
Do you people have any idea about wheatgrass? Is it effective?
Thanks,
Savani
Reply # - April 19, 2013, 12:22 PM
Reply To: Lung Adenocarcinoam with Brain Metastasis
I'm sorry it has been such a difficult course for him recently. Unfortunately, it's not possible for us to give medical advice to someone who isn't one of our patients. Erlocip (erlotinib) is certainly a fine choice, and if he seems to be doing better when on it vs. being off of it, I think it does make sense for him to continue on it. However, it may be necessary to seek a second opinion from another oncologist about getting repeat imaging to assess response to treatment.
In terms of other options, Taxotere (docetaxel) is a chemotherapy agent that has some demonstrated efficacy in previously treated patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma, but it can be challenging for some patients, especially if they are already somewhat weak. There are also other chemotherapy drugs, such as Gemzar (gemcitabine) or Navelbine (vinorelbine) that could potentially be tried, but they don't have any proven benefit in terms of improving survival in previously treated patients. More importantly, if people are already rather frail because of their disease and/or the treatments, giving more chemotherapy beyond that point may worsen outcomes rather than improve them. This is why it's important to have the judgment of someone who can actually evaluate the patient directly making recommendations, rather than people through the internet who don't know the details and can't assess the person.
Good luck.
-Dr. West
Reply # - May 1, 2013, 09:36 PM
Reply To: Lung Adenocarcinoam with Brain Metastasis
Dr. West, thanks a lot for your reply.