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Old 03-19-2015, 02:52 PM   #1
suzan w
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HELP! Friend dx'd w/stage 4 pancreatic cancer
Need feedback, good buddies, good friend just dx'd with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, spread to liver, stomach and tumor on her aorta. A terrible situation. She has been recommended a chemo routine of Gemzar, Taxol and Xtandi to prolong her life perhaps a year? As of today she was given 3-6 mo. Already in lots of pain, weight loss, extreme fatigue...
I know that Gemzar and Taxol are both used in breast cancer treatments.
Her question to me is...Will that chemo cocktail give her any quality of life...or make her feel worse than she is already feeling.
I have no experience with either, as I was treated with A/C.
I know that this is not directly related to Her2, or breast cancer...but it is the first place I thought of with people who have had way too much experience with metastatic cancer and chemo.
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!!
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Suzan W.
age 54 at diagnosis
5/05 suspicious mammogram-left breast
5/05 biopsy-invasive lobular carcinoma with LCIS,8mm tumor,stage 1 grade 2, ER+ PR+ Her2+++
6/14/05 bilateral mastectomy, node neg. all scans neg.
Oncotype DX-high risk
8/05-10/05 4 rounds A/C
10/05 -10/06 1 yr. herceptin
arimidex-5 years
2/14/08 started daily self administered injections..FORTEO for severe osteoporosis
7/28/09 BRCA 1 negative BRCA2 POSITIVE
8/17/09 prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy
10/15/10 last FORTEOinjection
RECLAST infusion(ostoeporosis)
6/14/10 5 year cancerversary!
8/2010-18%increase in bone density!
no further treatments
Oncologist says, "Go do the Happy Dance"
I say,"What a long strange trip its been"
'One day at a time'
6-14-2015. 10 YEAR CANCERVERSARY!
7-16 to 9-16. Extensive (and expensive) dental work done to save teeth. Damage from osteoporosis and chemo and long term bisphosphonate use
6-14-16. 11 YEAR CANCERVERSARY!!
7-20-16 Prolia injection for severe osteoporosis
2 days later, massive hive outbreak. This led to an eventual dx of Chronic Ideopathic Urticaria, an auto-immune disease from HELL.
6-14-17 12 YEAR CANCERVERSARY!!
still suffering from CIU. 4 hospitilizations in the past year

as of today, 10-31-17 in remission from CIU and still, CANCER FREE!!!
6-14-18 13 YEAR CANCERVERSARY!! NED!!
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Old 03-19-2015, 03:53 PM   #2
linzer
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Re: HELP! Friend dx'd w/stage 4 pancreatic cancer
I'm so sorry to hear this. My thoughts are with you, your friend, and her family. I don't have any experience with any of the drugs except Taxol. I did relatively well on it. I did have mild neuropathy (used L-Glutamine and it got much better) and diarrhea. I think that I would opt to take it to prolong my life but that is a limited opinion since I don't know how the other drugs may affect her. I truly am sorry to hear this. I hope that she finds the peace of mind to make the decision that is right for her.

Linda
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5/15/14 Dx IDC, right breast, 2 cm with 3 cm lymph node ER/PR- Her2+

6/11/14 Taxol / Herceptin / Perjeta

9/17/14 Lumpectomy, axillary lymph node dissection 3/9 nodes showed previous involvement but all clear due to THP!!

9/24/14 NED

10/8/14 AC x 4

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Old 03-20-2015, 05:37 AM   #3
sarah
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Re: HELP! Friend dx'd w/stage 4 pancreatic cancer
Very sorry to hear this. If surgery is possible on anywhere, that's good but I'm wondering about brachytherapy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachytherapy) internal radiation, would that work? Perhaps some internet search might come up with something, there are so many breakthroughs happening all the time. Maybe check ASCO and Medscape (free but have to sign up). Is she near a top cancer hospital? Might be worth checking who's the top person for this type of cancer and seeing them wherever they are. I am so sorry your friend has pancreatic cancer and understand how worried you must be
hugs sarah
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Old 03-20-2015, 10:45 AM   #4
KDR
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Re: HELP! Friend dx'd w/stage 4 pancreatic cancer
I did PM Suzan, but thought you all might keep this in the back of your mind:

Infusions of MART-10, a Vitamin D analog.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25149065

Hope everyone is well.

Karen
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Old 03-20-2015, 12:21 PM   #5
Mtngrl
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Re: HELP! Friend dx'd w/stage 4 pancreatic cancer
I have no information to contribute. I'm just sorry to hear this. So sad.

Amy
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Old 03-20-2015, 03:58 PM   #6
Jackie07
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Re: HELP! Friend dx'd w/stage 4 pancreatic cancer
This abstract says that Xtandi is generally well tolerated. Hope your friend respond well to the treatment. There's always miracle and hope.

Drugs Aging. 2015 Feb 25. [Epub ahead of print]
Enzalutamide: A Review of Its Use in Chemotherapy-Naïve Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer.
Keating GM1.
Author information
Abstract
Enzalutamide (Xtandi®) is an androgen receptor inhibitor that blocks several steps in the androgen receptor signalling pathway. This article reviews the clinical efficacy and tolerability of oral enzalutamide in chemotherapy-naïve men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), as well as summarizing its pharmacological properties. In the randomized, double-blind, multinational PREVAIL trial, enzalutamide significantly improved both radiographic progression-free survival and overall survival versus placebo in chemotherapy-naïve men with metastatic CRPC who were asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. In addition, enzalutamide significantly delayed the need for chemotherapy and the decline in health-related quality of life versus placebo. Enzalutamide was generally well tolerated in chemotherapy-naïve men with metastatic CRPC. In conclusion, enzalutamide is a convenient, effective and well tolerated treatment for chemotherapy-naïve men with metastatic CRPC who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic.
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Last edited by Jackie07; 03-20-2015 at 04:02 PM..
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Old 03-20-2015, 06:18 PM   #7
suzan w
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Re: HELP! Friend dx'd w/stage 4 pancreatic cancer
Thank you, everyone...I am passing along everything to my friend.
__________________
Suzan W.
age 54 at diagnosis
5/05 suspicious mammogram-left breast
5/05 biopsy-invasive lobular carcinoma with LCIS,8mm tumor,stage 1 grade 2, ER+ PR+ Her2+++
6/14/05 bilateral mastectomy, node neg. all scans neg.
Oncotype DX-high risk
8/05-10/05 4 rounds A/C
10/05 -10/06 1 yr. herceptin
arimidex-5 years
2/14/08 started daily self administered injections..FORTEO for severe osteoporosis
7/28/09 BRCA 1 negative BRCA2 POSITIVE
8/17/09 prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy
10/15/10 last FORTEOinjection
RECLAST infusion(ostoeporosis)
6/14/10 5 year cancerversary!
8/2010-18%increase in bone density!
no further treatments
Oncologist says, "Go do the Happy Dance"
I say,"What a long strange trip its been"
'One day at a time'
6-14-2015. 10 YEAR CANCERVERSARY!
7-16 to 9-16. Extensive (and expensive) dental work done to save teeth. Damage from osteoporosis and chemo and long term bisphosphonate use
6-14-16. 11 YEAR CANCERVERSARY!!
7-20-16 Prolia injection for severe osteoporosis
2 days later, massive hive outbreak. This led to an eventual dx of Chronic Ideopathic Urticaria, an auto-immune disease from HELL.
6-14-17 12 YEAR CANCERVERSARY!!
still suffering from CIU. 4 hospitilizations in the past year

as of today, 10-31-17 in remission from CIU and still, CANCER FREE!!!
6-14-18 13 YEAR CANCERVERSARY!! NED!!
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Old 03-20-2015, 08:10 PM   #8
Lucy
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Re: HELP! Friend dx'd w/stage 4 pancreatic cancer
I'm sorry to hear your friend is dealing with this. Like Linda, I only have experience with taxol and I didn't do well on it. My understanding is that most do tolerate it well though. The thing is, your friend can always opt out if she decides it's making things worse. I would probably give it a shot and see how things went and go from there.

Good luck, I hope it goes well.
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Old 03-22-2015, 02:38 AM   #9
sarah
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Re: HELP! Friend dx'd w/stage 4 pancreatic cancer
Suzan,
Have you seen this site? Wonder if it might be helpful in the way this site is for HER2:
https://pancreaticcanceraction.org/p.../chemotherapy/
I wish your friend all the best and take care of yourself as well.
hugs
sarah
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