Tykerb xeloda stopped working

[TheresaM]

Ragini: I am like you, except that I've never responded to any chemo or experimental drug at all, let alone for a couple of months. The only one was the EAP trial and I got about 5 weeks of response out of that before the Xeloda killed off a foot of my intestine and nearly killed me, and then the drugs stopped working since I had to go off them for a month. I have not experienced stability, let alone remission, in the 3.5 years since diagnosis. I am 41, with a 3-yr-old daughter.

The reason I say you have a sign of hope is because you DID respond to your various treatments, even if only for a short time. That is a good sign, it makes your chances of responding again that much higher. I'm terribly sorry for your pain, that is so wearying, and I understand your hopelessness because most of the time that is how i feel. I just started a new phase-II trial (Wyeth's drug HKI-272) that requires I fly 6 hours from Hawaii to Seattle every week for a while, then every other week. It is so fatiguing but I feel I have to keep trying. My mets are in my lungs, extensively throughout my lymph system, abdomen and skin.

By the way my hubby is from Singpore, and I used to live there. Are you treated at Queen E?

Theresa

[Bev]

Yes R, like Theresa and my onc nurses say, the people that fare the best are the ones who respond positively to most treatments. I know the process isn't pleasant, but once the side effects wear off, you're going to have a whole new attitude. Try starting Vit B6 now to ward off body aches from taxol. Ask the ons nurses, they know all.

I think it might be worthwhile getting back to the US to continue EAP, I'm assuming Tykerb.

Hang in there. We all truly care and know how hard this is. I adopted the one day at a time policy but I don't know how I would feel if someone else adopted it for me.

Take a vacation at the Useless Spa. You deserve it. Try to make it useful somehow,watching educational videos, smelling the flowers, but if it's not, so what? I hope you can find peace to continue fighting your disease.

Talk to people. It helps to spread the burden around. My best wishes to you. Bev.