Anyone has been or is on gemzar?

[yanyan]

After being on kadcyla for almost 6 months, skin progression required change of drugs. I had problems with low platelets on kadcyla and heavy menstruation and nose bleed. Now that I'm on reduced gemzar and abraxane 2 weeks on 1 week off, my platelets are already dropping after only one treatment. It took me 3 months to recover from kadcyla finally got over 100,000 and now it's 66000. My nose bleeds anytime it wishes. Anyone else had low platelets problem on gemzar? Some people have been on it for years with no blood counts problem. I feel my bone marrow is working way too hard!!

[CoolBreeze]

Gemzar did that to me too, only white counts. I've been off it for 7 months and my white count is still really low at 1.3. I think gemzar killed it forever! I'd be really careful of that drug and talk to your doctor. It might be that any chemo is going to do that to you now but gemzar is known for being hard on the marrow. It never occured to me I wouldn't recover, but I haven't. My grans are still not high enough to get another chemo and it's been a long time since I've been off it.

Good luck.

[yanyan]

Dear Ann, thanks for your input on gemzar! I'm on a reduced dose but obviously kadcyla took a hit on my platelets and gemzar is making it worse. I also have the concern that my platelets will never recover and does that mean i will need a bone marrow transfusion or not able to handle other chemo drugs. I'm anemic to begin with. Other than bleeding, other side effects don't seem bothersome. I'll get my counts checked next week. Great to hear you have been off chemo for 7 months and everything is stable!!

[KristinSchwick]

Sorry, I'm in a hurry, but I thought I'd add my two cents. I was on Gemzar for 2 months and had no problems- no problems with my counts, no side effects really. Except it burned going in, I do not have a port. Just wanted to let you know that not all the side effects affect everyone.

[Jackie07]

Here's a successful case report of Herceptin (trastuzumab) and Gemzar (gemcitabine):

Gan To Kagaku Ryoho. 2013 Nov;40(12):2396-8.
[A case of effective trastuzumab plus gemcitabine therapy for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer].
[Article in Japanese]
Yabe N1, Murai S, Shimizu H, Kitasato K, Yoshikawa T, Oto I, Nakadai J, Jinno H, Kitagawa Y.
Author information
Abstract
A 71-year-old postmenopausal woman was undergoing treatment for depression. She visited the hospital with a chief complaint of fibrosclerosis of the entire left breast 8 years previously. She was diagnosed as having stage IV( T3N1M1b) left breast cancer (papillotubular>scirrhous carcinoma, g+, f+, estrogen receptor [ER]-negative, progesterone receptor [PgR]-negative, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2[ HER2/neu]-positive[ 3+]). Synchronous bone metastases were detected in the left tenth rib, the eleventh dorsal vertebra, and in the area spanning the lower lumbar to sacral vertebrae. First-line treatment was systemic therapy with 4 cycles of Adriamycin and cyclophosphamide (AC) followed by 4 cycles of trastuzumab and paclitaxel. The breast mass initially observed on clinical imaging disappeared and only calcifications were observed. Bone metastases were detected only in the left tenth rib. As an additional therapy, 3-dimensional radiotherapy( 50 Gy/25 fractions), which irradiated the left mammary gland, axilla, and supraclavicular fossa, was administered. The tumor was well controlled for approximately 3 years. However, a gradual increase in the level of carcinoembryonic antigen( CEA) was accompanied by an increase in the left breast mass and enlargement of left axillary lymph nodes. Modified radical mastectomy (Bt+Ax [level I]) was performed for this condition 3 years ago. Papillotubular-type invasive ductal carcinoma (INF β, ly3, v0, g+, f+, s+, nuclear grade 3 [atypia 3+mitosis 3]) was diagnosed histopathologically. Lymph node metastases were also detected. As histopathological examination of the bone metastatic lesion showed no progression, administration of lapatinib and capecitabine was initiated. After 15 cycles of treatment, enlarged right axillary lymph nodes were observed and local excision was performed. Histopathological examination revealed recurrence of the breast cancer. The patient was diagnosed as having grade 3( atypia 3, mitosis 2) breast cancer( ER-negative, PgR-negative, HER2/neu positive[ 3+], and MIB-1 index 50%). The response to treatment with lapatinib and capecitabine was progressive disease( PD), and therefore, trastuzumab and gemcitabine therapy was selected. Currently, the patient has undergone 30 cycles of this regimen and the tumor is well controlled. This regimen was considered effective for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.