Over a Year after Kadcyla
 

Kadcyla worked pretty well for me, for awhile. I don't regret having done it. But it did cause elevated liver enzymes and reduced platelets.

On 2/2/15 I had a routine blood test. Liver enzymes are now (finally!) in the normal range and platelets are only a tiny bit low. The only thing that's still elevated is AlkPhos, and it's not terribly high.

My blood pressure was also elevated while on Kadcyla. Now my diastolic number is near-normal. Systolic bounces around, sometimes getting a bit high, but at other times it's near-normal.

As you can see from my signature I switched to Herceptin and Perjeta alone (without chemo), then added Xeloda when a scan showed some progression.

I don't like the Xeloda. I take it on a one week on/one week off schedule rather than the "standard" two weeks on/one week off. I've got some neuropathy and I'm constantly plagued by diarrhea. My hair is thinning too, which is too bad. But, of course, if it continues to knock the cancer back, I'm OK with all of that.

Re: Over a Year after Kadcyla
 

Hi Amy, I have been off kadcyla since Sept...I really found it to be tougher than I thought. And it did help clear my lungs which was good. My liver enzymes are a bit elevated too, but slowly going back to normal..alk.phos. like yours. I was on Xeloda for about 2 years and had same symptoms as you, but I was still teaching then and it was tolerable. Hair did thin a bit, too. Hang in there friend...always wishing you well. Cathy

Re: Over a Year after Kadcyla
 

Overall improvement is a great thing to read

Re: Over a Year after Kadcyla
 

It is good to see "improvement" in a scan report. My next one is March 12. My lung function is good. I feel pretty good. And I'm happy to see those blood levels looking more like my old self.

Re: Over a Year after Kadcyla
 

Good to hear that xeloda is keeping things under control ! I was on xeloda and Tykerb for one year with painful cracked heels. Kadcyla got rid of my chest wall nodes but my platelets were really low and my doctor was not willing to lower the dosage. My nurse later said it seems to affect Asian more than other ethnic groups. Wheatgrass was helpful in my case.

Re: Over a Year after Kadcyla
 

Platelets are interesting. I was alarmed by my low numbers, but my oncologist said I had a long way to go before I should worry. I did have more bleeding and bruising when they were low, but there were no other noticeable effects.

She also wasn't concerned about the liver enzymes, because bilirubin was normal. She said that showed my liver was working fine.

That does highlight the importance of asking any and all questions that arise.

As for my lungs, I think Kadcyla may have caused lung inflammation that is only now beginning to abate. We'll never know, and in the end it doesn't matter as long as we figure out how to manage it.