Mom returned to chemo after finding 2 liesons on her liver back in October. Back on to Alimta and she is getting Zometa due to fractures in her spine that were causing her pain.
Scan after 3 infusions shows 1 of the 3 tumors smaller, but the other has grown from nearly undetectable to over 1cm and then there is a new one at about 1 cm. He also sees an additional spot on her cervical spine.
He is having her get only Zometa today and wants to biopsy the tumors to look for mutations. Fingers crossed that we find something there. If no mutation is detected then he likely will suggest Taxol.
Is it way worse that Alimta which has seemed like a dream? Fast infusion, virtually no side effects and no hair loss. I am worried that the other treatment may be way harder for her.
At any rate just bummed that the Alimta isn't working like we had hoped.
Reply # - February 13, 2015, 07:20 PM
Hi Carrie,
Hi Carrie,
I'm sorry to hear that Alimta has not been effective for your mom. It does tend to be one of the best-tolerated chemo drugs for lung cancer, while Taxol can be more difficult for some patients, although others don't have much trouble with it. Aside from the usual types of chemo side effects such as lowered blood counts, nausea and fatigue, taxol can cause peripheral neuropathy, a side effect Dr. West describes in this post.
One possible alternative to taxol is a drug called Abraxane, which is basically the same drug in a different formulation, one which tends to cause fewer side effects. My used it and found it fairly easy to tolerate. The big downside to Abraxane is that it is very expensive, so an insurance company might balk at paying for it. But you may want to ask your doctor if it is an option.
Whether an actionable mutation is found or the next choice is a standard chemotherapy drug, I hope your mom's next regimen is effective and not too tough on her.
JimC
Forum moderator