Kristi from SFBay-re: how long does Tykerb take to work?

[hutchibk]

Hi Kristi -

I have seen your question on a couple of posts where you have asked how long it takes for Tykerb to work...

Hopefully a few others will respond here so that you can see a good range of answers...

I saw less enhancement of my brain mets (3 of them, apx 9 mm each) after 1 month, shrinkage of the brain mets by almost 1/2 by 3.5 months, and all were completely gone, as well as bone met in neck, at 5 months. I am now staying on the combo (at 8.5 months) and still NED-i.e. no evidence of disease. Of course, everyone is different, but I have had wonderful luck with this combo. I did not have to do any brain radiation to treat my brain mets because of my excellent Tykerb results.

[Kristi]

Thank you for your response. I have only been on two weeks, and am the first Tykerb my oncologist has prescribed. Did you get nausea and diarrhea at first, and how long did it take to go away?

[Roz]

Hi Kristi,
You probably would find out a lot of info by looking back at past posts on this subject. There are many!! I had to cease the combo for a week as my side effects were quite severe, but after returning to the regime and gradually increasing my dose I have been OK. Still have the rash though, but we all react differently, I guess.

[doh2pa]

Hi,

We did scans after 2 cycles (6 weeks) and they showed marked improvement over the baseline scan. I know there are some folks who responded quickly and others who took a little longer. (how's that for a cagey answer?).

I agree with the post above, check previous posts on this.

[Kristi]

Thanks for your post. I am starting to feel better on the Tykerb. It's been about 5 weeks.