symptoms to lung mets

I wonder if any of you have bad symptoms with lung mets. we discovered mets to the lungs last Jan and after radiation (due to swollen nodes between the lungs causing wheezing and difficulty breathing), started Gemzar, which we had 4 rounds of (weekly). Last week CT scan showed increase in size and number of tumours.

This was very dissappointing as I really felt i was fighting it on all fronts (following macrobiotic diet as well as other herbal supplements).

in just these past two weeks my coughing has increased so much it is making me feel very worried. My onc was very serious (not his usual self) and told me that we cant keep progressing this way, that it is moving so fast....Tomorrow I start a 3-drug regimen( Mitoxantrone, Mitomycin and methotrexate). Im really hoping we can sit on it for a while.

would appreciate any help/advice from anyone with lung mets....particularly about this excessive coughing. This weekend my onc gave my steroids, which did suppress the cough on Fri and Sat, but today it just seems back to normal and thats when I start to feel depressed again...I have been so positive these past two years bus these two weeks have really made me worry that this is going to finish me off - I just look at my two beautiful girls and worry and worry and worry...

thanks for listening
I fee very sad tonite

gillian (Malta, Europe)

Gillian;

I am so sorry you are going through this terrible time. Are you taking herceptin along with your chemo? Has your oncologist thought of lapatinib? I have heard that it can be used in combination with herceptin. Lolly posted the following list of excerpts from articles which you might find of interest. I have not had lung mets but many others have and will post here their experience and advice. Hang in there. I will pray for you.

Cathya


Activity of the Dual Kinase Inhibitor Lapatinib (GW572016) against HER-2-Overexpressing and Trastuzumab-Treated Breast Cancer Cells
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/c...tract/66/3/1630
“…For the combination of lapatinib plus trastuzumab, synergistic drug interactions were
observed in four different HER-2-overexpressing cell lines. Moreover, lapatinib retained significant in vitro activity against cell lines selected for long-term outgrowth (>9 months) in trastuzumab-containing (100 µg/mL) culture medium. These observations provide a clear biological rationale to test lapatinib as a single agent or in combination with trastuzumab in HER-2-overexpressing breast cancer and in patients with clinical resistance to trastuzumab. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(3): 1630-9)

Lapatinib shows 35% response in advanced breast cancer patients in initial trial of the drug as first-line treatment
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/med...hp?newsid=24445
Main Category: Breast Cancer News
Article Date: 15 May 2005 - 15:00pm (UK)
“…The most frequently reported adverse events in this trial have been mild to moderate itching, rash, diarrhea, acne, and dry skin. No adverse events deemed drug-related, including cardiotoxicity, have been serious enough to be categorised as Grade 3 or 4 by standard toxicity criteria.
...At the San Antonio Breast Cancer Conference last December, it was reported that 6 of 26 patients (23 percent) whose cancer progressed during Herceptin treatment later experienced partial or complete responses when lapatinib was added to their standard Herceptin regimen...
Lapatinib has been granted fast-track status by the FDA for the treatment of refractory advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have documented ErbB2 overexpression and who have failed previous therapy, including Herceptin…”

Breakthroughs in Breast Cancer Treatments
http://www.webmd.com/content/pages/24/113001.htm
“…Findings about an experimental oral drug, lapatinib, were also presented at the meeting. Like Herceptin, lapatinib targets HER2, but it also targets a related protein called EGFR, meaning that it could have a broader range of effectiveness or could be especially effective when added to Herceptin. One small study evaluated the combination of lapatinib and Herceptin in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The researchers reported no additional or unexpected side effects with the combination. Moreover, a good percentage of this difficult-to-treat population responded to the treatment.

"We are very excited about the results of all of these studies with these new agents, and they clearly demonstrate a role for this type of therapy in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer," Miller says. "We also expect an even greater benefit for these therapies when used for earlier-stage disease as opposed to the metastatic setting."

Published Jan. 30, 2006.

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Gillian,

I have mets to lungs and liver. I had rapid progression to both this past winter. My cough was horrible. I would cough until I choked. They did a chest x-ray and found that my pleural effusion had progressed. That is fluid around the lung. They did a thoracentesis (drained it) and I had immediate relief. Just wondering if this cough could be from fluid?

warmly,

Judiek

Dear Cathy and Judie,

thank you very much for your posts, Cathy I will print up these articles....I have been on Herceptin as a single agent for many months (although disease progressed during this time), mostly between the time of my last positive nodes and the new mets in Jan...really thought it was working as a preventative...I have spoken to my onc about Lapatinib and I am really pushing him for it, will also speak to him today about Avastin..... really thank you for your help

Judie (are you the same one from BC support website - Recurrences?) I have just had CT scan which shows that there isnt any fluid in the lungs, just larger tumours (there were only 2 small ones in Jan) plus a number of 'new infiltrates'...it also appeared that I had a lung infection (productive cough with green phlem - sorry thats really awful of me I know) and my doc has given me antibiotics. The cough now seems very dry and is just a hacking type that really wears me out....

thank you very much - Im popping in to the office this morning and then will go to the hospital late morning for my chemo.

hugs and prayers

gillian

Gillian,

Yes I'm the same judiek from recurrence board! Best of luck to you and let us know what the onc decides on

warmly,

judiek