Emmay
05-08-2007, 07:56 AM
My sister just yesterday had her third monthly MRI since starting the Temodar (a.k.a Temozolomide, an oral chemo that crosses the blood-brain barrier) plus oral antiangiogenesis drug Sorafenib(a.k.a Nexavar) combo treatment, and the good news is there have been no new mets since she started in February! (Prior to that, she had been receiving Cyberknife radiosurgery every 2-3 months, as 2-3 new mini-mets would appear by the 2nd monthly MRI i.e. the Cyberknife treatment worked well on detected mets, but new lesions where still showing up, and she had already received Whole Brain Radiation in Nov'04).
She is feeling well on this treatment, with the side effects being minor (controllable) occasional nausea and diarrhea, decreased appetite from the Sorafenib (she has lost 12 lbs since Feb 1), and her hair is thinning slowly, unlike the quick loss when she had AC+T chemo before in '03-'04. She works out at Curves every morning, walks her dog, gets out with friends and drives her two boys to their activities. She, her husband and the boys just had a great vacation in Florida.
Her neuro-oncologist and oncology nurse say they are starting to see more positive responses to the Temodar/Sorafenib combo treatment in people with brain mets (from breast cancer, melanoma, and others). The Herceptin my sister gets every 3 weeks is keeping the rest of her body clear, and now, at last, an effective treatment that crosses the blood-brain barrier.
She is feeling well on this treatment, with the side effects being minor (controllable) occasional nausea and diarrhea, decreased appetite from the Sorafenib (she has lost 12 lbs since Feb 1), and her hair is thinning slowly, unlike the quick loss when she had AC+T chemo before in '03-'04. She works out at Curves every morning, walks her dog, gets out with friends and drives her two boys to their activities. She, her husband and the boys just had a great vacation in Florida.
Her neuro-oncologist and oncology nurse say they are starting to see more positive responses to the Temodar/Sorafenib combo treatment in people with brain mets (from breast cancer, melanoma, and others). The Herceptin my sister gets every 3 weeks is keeping the rest of her body clear, and now, at last, an effective treatment that crosses the blood-brain barrier.