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Old 09-16-2008, 10:46 AM   #2
StephN
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Misty woods of WA State
Posts: 4,128
Hi Rich -

Wish there was an easy answer.

I had Taxotere as part of adjuvent treatment. That plus Adriamycin did NOT work for me. I had raging liver mets within 6 months of ending that combo.

On the other hand, TAXOL WAS a good drug for me, in combination with Navelbine and Herceptin. I had a weekly treatment schedule and this worked for me.

There is a difference in the taxanes. One was made from the Yew tree bark and the other from the needles. But they may be formulated in the lab now.

From Wikipedia: (This also better explains how the drugs work toward the cancer cell, and mentions Vinca alkoloids (Navelbine) so you see how these drugs are synergistic.)

"The taxanes are diterpenes produced by the plants of the genus Taxus (yews). As their name suggests, they were first derived from natural sources, but some have been synthesized artificially. Taxanes include paclitaxel and docetaxel. Paclitaxel was originally derived from the Pacific yew tree.
Taxanes have been used to produce various chemotherapy drugs. The principal mechanism of the taxane class of drugs is the disruption of microtubule function. It does this by stabilizing GDP-bound tubulin in the microtubule. Microtubules are essential to cell division, and taxanes therefore stop this - a "frozen mitosis". Thus, taxanes are essentially mitotic inhibitors. In contrast to the taxanes, the vinca alkaloids destroy mitotic spindles. Both, taxanes and vinca alkaloids are therefore named spindle poisons or mitosis poisons, but they act in different ways. Taxanes are also thought to be radiosensitizing."
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MY STORY SO FAR ~~~~
Found suspicious lump 9/2000
Lumpectomy, then node dissection and port placement
Stage IIB, 8 pos nodes of 18, Grade 3, ER & PR -
Adriamycin 12 weekly, taxotere 4 rounds
36 rads - very little burning
3 mos after rads liver full of tumors, Stage IV Jan 2002, one spot on sternum
Weekly Taxol, Navelbine, Herceptin for 27 rounds to NED!
2003 & 2004 no active disease - 3 weekly Herceptin + Zometa
Jan 2005 two mets to brain - Gamma Knife on Jan 18
All clear until treated cerebellum spot showing activity on Jan 2006 brain MRI & brain PET
Brain surgery on Feb 9, 2006 - no cancer, 100% radiation necrosis - tumor was still dying
Continue as NED while on Herceptin & quarterly Zometa
Fall-2006 - off Zometa - watching one small brain spot (scar?)
2007 - spot/scar in brain stable - finished anticoagulation therapy for clot along my port-a-catheter - 3 angioplasties to unblock vena cava
2008 - Brain and body still NED! Port removed and scans in Dec.
Dec 2008 - stop Herceptin - Vaccine Trial at U of W begun in Oct. of 2011
STILL NED everywhere in Feb 2014 - on wing & prayer
7/14 - Started twice yearly Zometa for my bones
Jan. 2015 checkup still shows NED
2015 Neuropathy in feet - otherwise all OK - still NED.
Same news for 2016 and all of 2017.
Nov of 2017 - had small skin cancer removed from my face. Will have Zometa end of Jan. 2018.

Last edited by StephN; 09-16-2008 at 10:55 AM..
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