Revisit navelbine or move on to Gemzaar.God I need a beed a

Hi,
I visit this website now and then and have got very useful information from many people. I have been on various chemo regimens since my recurrence( bone mets) in 2000 october. I started of with 4AC+4 Taxol was given a break for 2mths then started taking herceptin alone which kept the tumor markers within the normal range for about 6mths although there were hot spots. The doc added navelbine to herceptin on a weekly basis in March 2002 which seemed to keep the markers down for a 16mths ( iwas never NED). I moved on to Xeloda in )ctober 2003 but was diagnosed with brain mets in January2004.( The brain mets was seen in an earlier MRI but was taken to be as meningioma, I went to MD Anderson in JUly 2003 and they too said it was a meningioma). I had a brain surgery and followed by 28 sessions of local brain radiation. I was taken off Xeloda during surgery and radiation. The markers went down a bit after surgery but they were not within the normal range. The brain mets was found to be ER/PR positive and I was given Arimidex soon after surgery and Xeloda was added to the regimen in May. The markers have been gradually creeping up and last week there was a significant jump to 69. The doc has given me the option of trying out navelbine again or moving on to Gemzaar. Has anybody tken navelbine again after taking a break from it. Is anybody taking Gemzaar? May I know what the side effects you underwent and how long you have been on it.God I need a break. I am just finding this very difficult to handle. After being on chemo for such a long time my energy levels are low and tire easily. I have channelised so much energy into reading and researching but find that it is not getting me anywhere. I sometimes go down this path as to why I am going thru this prolonged suffering both mentally and physically and what did I do to deserve this.I am just having a bad day girls.
With lots of hugs

Ragini

Hi Ragini--sorry to hear of the difficulties that you have been having. Has anyone suggested Temodor for the brain mets or have you been on that?

Rajini
Hope you find more answers here on our message board. I feel you nee to regain strength by eating every 2 hours and drinking lots of fluids w/o caffiene, Gatorade or a low sugar drink w/ electrolytes can help you manage your fatigue. Eat high protein foods , complex carbohydrates with low-sugar content, but high fiber values that will help you to maintain your blood sugar level at a more stable level. Check your nutrition labels. Hugs, Christine