HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post

06-23-2005, 07:36 PM

hi patty~
i'm sorry you were in the hospital from xeloda...hope your feeling better. i know you'll be glad to get home.
i was on the q3week Abraxane/Herceptin combo x 3 weeks. it was the first time i'd been on a regimen at that dose...previously i'd always done weekly tx, like weekly taxol/herceptin & even stayed on weekly herceptin during the year i was NED. it was nice to be able to have those 2 weeks off in between.
i tolerated it really well. minimal side effects, maybe a little nausea for a couple of days after, a little fluish too, but I used to feel that way whenever I did the triple dose of herceptin v. the weekly. hard to say what was making me feel crummy. my counts were fine & though they cautioned about the potentially more severe neuropathy, i didn't have any signs or symps in the 9 weeks i was on A/H. I did lose my hair again VERY QUICKLY. When I was on weekly TH the first time, my hair started to thin ~21 days after my first dose, then gradually until I just buzzed it. On Abraxane I think by day 14 my scalp was so sore & hair falling out so fast, I buzzed it off. now that i'm on weekly TCH there's a little showing of hair coming back, but nothing major & very slow.
i will say it was really great to not have to do the benadryl/decadron pre-med before the Abraxane! and Abraxane infuses over 30 mins, so that was a huge plus too. i just wish it had worked for me...maybe if they hadn't screwed up my dosages, but i guess we'll never know...all the research about abraxane is so great. i'm sure it will do well for you.
one thing i'd suggest is chatting w/your onc about doing WEEKLY tx v. q3week. there's some good preliminary data supporting "metronomic" chemotherapy-lower doses, but more frequently- having better anti-angiogenic effects than the q3week doses (google "metronomic chemotherapy" & there's a bunch of articles about it). memorial sloan kettering in NYC is currently doing a study looking at weekly Abraxane/Carbo/Hercep, but i don't think any results have been published yet. When I was researching Abraxane I made contact a woman on that study at MSK.At that point she was ~8months into treatment & she said her hair had only thinned, not fallen out in clumps. I'll see if I can find her contact info or her posting from the other web support group-when I do I'll fwd it on to you.
wishing you well, patty. Abraxane is going to do the trick for you, I just know it!
Take good care!
Prayers, Faith & Courage!

06-23-2005, 07:36 PM	#4
jessica Guest Posts: n/a	hi patty~ i'm sorry you were in the hospital from xeloda...hope your feeling better. i know you'll be glad to get home. i was on the q3week Abraxane/Herceptin combo x 3 weeks. it was the first time i'd been on a regimen at that dose...previously i'd always done weekly tx, like weekly taxol/herceptin & even stayed on weekly herceptin during the year i was NED. it was nice to be able to have those 2 weeks off in between. i tolerated it really well. minimal side effects, maybe a little nausea for a couple of days after, a little fluish too, but I used to feel that way whenever I did the triple dose of herceptin v. the weekly. hard to say what was making me feel crummy. my counts were fine & though they cautioned about the potentially more severe neuropathy, i didn't have any signs or symps in the 9 weeks i was on A/H. I did lose my hair again VERY QUICKLY. When I was on weekly TH the first time, my hair started to thin ~21 days after my first dose, then gradually until I just buzzed it. On Abraxane I think by day 14 my scalp was so sore & hair falling out so fast, I buzzed it off. now that i'm on weekly TCH there's a little showing of hair coming back, but nothing major & very slow. i will say it was really great to not have to do the benadryl/decadron pre-med before the Abraxane! and Abraxane infuses over 30 mins, so that was a huge plus too. i just wish it had worked for me...maybe if they hadn't screwed up my dosages, but i guess we'll never know...all the research about abraxane is so great. i'm sure it will do well for you. one thing i'd suggest is chatting w/your onc about doing WEEKLY tx v. q3week. there's some good preliminary data supporting "metronomic" chemotherapy-lower doses, but more frequently- having better anti-angiogenic effects than the q3week doses (google "metronomic chemotherapy" & there's a bunch of articles about it). memorial sloan kettering in NYC is currently doing a study looking at weekly Abraxane/Carbo/Hercep, but i don't think any results have been published yet. When I was researching Abraxane I made contact a woman on that study at MSK.At that point she was ~8months into treatment & she said her hair had only thinned, not fallen out in clumps. I'll see if I can find her contact info or her posting from the other web support group-when I do I'll fwd it on to you. wishing you well, patty. Abraxane is going to do the trick for you, I just know it! Take good care! Prayers, Faith & Courage!