Good news - but very bad side effects

Dear All:

Last time around I was feeling quite bad and I guess it showed in my last post (the one before the Brazilian article).. For that I am really sorry. I want to really thank all of you who replied and atleast I found out its not just me who goes through the ups and downs of a loved ones journey.

My mom was diagnosed with a recorrance this February in the liver (2.5 cm lesion). A PET scan revealed that there are many other micro-scopic lesions.
2 weeks after the PET scan the 2.5 cm lesion grew to 3.2 cm and the once micro scopic lesions grew large enough to become visible through a CT scan.

Now the good part:

After going through 6 chemo cycles on a weekly basis (Taxotere and Herceptin) the large lesion has shrunk to 1.8 cm and the microsopic lesions are not visible through ultrasound

But because my mother was having severe HF symtpoms the taxotere was reduced and my mother was given a weeks respite after every three weeks of treatments.

After 3 weeks of treatment, the side effect have become worse..HF has gotten much worse and my mother is constantly shivering..she is so weak that she can barely walk and loses her breath quite quickly (could this be fatigue or mets to lungs?)

She has fever through out the day and needs to take Tylenol to reduce it ( i must mention that she is on her respite week) and through all of this she still goes to work about 85% of the time.

The doc said that even though my mother had an amazing response to taxotere he is changing it to Navelbine (Has anyone had a good response to this?)

Im just wondering...is having a fever the way my mother is having normal?
Is the fatigue that much that walking a bit can cause breathlessness and dizzyness (she is fine otherwise)?


Thanks

Shahyan

Dear Shahyan,
Is she also getting diahreah? I know that makes me very weak and tired. Also, does she have a stressful job. I left my job in February and was able to rest so much more and focus on getting well. It frees up a lot of time that whe n she feels good, she can do the things she enjoys. If I feel good once or twice a week, I go swimming. Did they do a scan of her lungs and give her a heart test? They test my heart every six weeks.I am not on the same drugs as her but I know the feeling of breathlessness and weakness. Does she take B6 for the HF syndrome? I am also taking a multiple vitamin and coq10. You are a great help to her. God Bless you both . Cathy

I have been on Taxol/Herceptin for many months. As far as I know, tired, sure, but shivering, breathlessness and dizzyness, definitely not. I assume she has had a brain MRI and a CT scan for lungs. As far as the brain MRI, remember that MANY of us here found brain mets with no symptoms at all. We asked our docs for this test.

I DID have an allergic reaction to Herceptin when first given. And a rare few are allergic to this drug. Does she get Benadryl as a pre-med?

1. What does her doctor say?

2. Is he changing the chemo because of her possible side effects? I just wondered since you say the combo has been effective.

I have also had the Navelbine/Herceptin combo and for me the side effects were much worse. But most women on this site seem to have done well on Navelbine. It DID help tremendously with my liver mets.

Love and light,

Lisa

What is the HF syndrome?

[StephN]

Jojo - HF is "hand/foot" syndrome. I had a little neuropathy, but nothing like Shahyan's Mom is experiencing.

Navelbine was a good drug for me and did knock out my liver mets. Taxotere was very hard on me and I got very weak on it - could hardly go up and down stairs without using the railing.

She should do just fine on Navelbine. Looks like her med onc is following her closely, which is better than the treatment some of us here have had.

All the best to your Mom.

I was on taxotere/herceptin for 6 months (for bone mets) & it was really hard on me too. I don't remember any fever, but the fatigue, and h/f syndrome were definitely major. I also had trouble breathing -- I couldn't walk from one end of the house to the other without getting winded. I did not have lung mets, but I developed pleural effusions (fluid) on both lungs as a result/side effect of the taxotere. It was severe & I had to have a procedure to drain the fluid (thoracentisis). But it did clear up after the taxotere & is fine now. Six months later I started navelbine/herceptin & was on that for 1 year & tolerated it much, much better.