Taxotere v. Navelbine v. Xeloda which to choose?

Maggie C · 04-23-2006, 02:48 PM

Hi ladies (and some fellows too) -

The results of my CT scan Monday showed 5 lesions in the lungs <1 cm and one of the lesions in my liver which had been 3cm (01-2006) is now 4cm; others no change. My CA 27.29 is at 38 but my CEA is 40. I finished my second round of Taxotere & Herceptin (6 cycles, q 3 weeks) the first of January and have been feeling great. Been having Herceptin q 3 weeks ever since.

My oncologist wants to put me back on Taxotere (of course now that my hair has grown back). He also mentioned Xeloda and Navelbine as alternatives w/Herceptin. Have any of you used either? What are your experiences? If you know of other options, I'd appreciate your input.

I'm thinking the Herceptin isn't working as I was "clear" - lungs - in January. My doc says he expects a 60% success rate w/Taxotere but only 45-50% w/the other two. He's not rushing me to start "chemo". What say you???

Also, if you have had success with Xeloda and/or Naveline, how severe were your side-effects?

Bless you all for you help!

Maggie

Sheila · 04-23-2006, 04:13 PM

Maggie
I am on Herceptin and Xeloda for mets to the supraclavicular nodes....I just started the Xeloda 3 weeks ago, 2500 mg a day and so far other than being tired I feel fine....it seems pretty easy to take other than the hand foot thing that alot of people get. Hopefully you will get more replys as there are alot on this board who have either taken or are on Xeloda. Lolly has taken both Navelbine and Xeloda, and is on both right now with the Herceptin.

Sherryg683 · 04-23-2006, 08:03 PM

I was on Taxotere, Xeloda and Herceptin all at once. Worked like a miracle for me as I am not NED..praise the Lord. The Xeloda was hard on me with the hand/foot syndrome and as you know, Taxotere is no fun...good luck..sherryg683

StephN · 04-23-2006, 09:24 PM

Hi -
I wanted to let you know that a combination of drugs got me through my raging liver mets. They were Taxol, Navelbine and Herceptin on a weekly basis. (Took 27 treatments to get me to NED almost 4 years ago and I have only had brain involvement since that time, which is now gone.)

This 3-pronged appraoch killed the cancer cells in different ways. This is what you should be looking at. HOW EACH DRUG will work against your rampant cancer cells.

Navelbine has been a good drug for many patients, both here and that I know otherwise.

Taxotere was not a good drug for me nor was the anthricycline Adriamycin.
If possible get your tumor tested for some of the elements that will help you decide what drugs will be best for you.

Strange that TAXOL in the combination was good for me but I progressed very quickly after using Taxotere.
We are all different in our reponse due to our own genetics and cell biology.

kk1 · 04-25-2006, 06:20 AM

Like sherry, I did the taxotere,xeloda, herceptin and it worked great been NED 18 months. I had the herceptin and taxotere weekly and xeloda two weeks on 1 week off. Did not even lose my hair with the weekly treatment--although it did thin out some. Anytime my feet started to get red or a little sore we would stop the xeloda for a 2-3 days and then restart when ever my feet felt "normal". This way I avoided the foot blisters that Sherry experience.

kk1

kk1

Maggie C · 05-01-2006, 02:44 PM

When you were on treatement? I'm my sole provider and taxotere q3 weeks really knocks me out. Are these other combo treatments doable for working (at a computer/going to meetings, etc.)?

Also, the weekly treatment regimen doesn't sound as harsh. Did I read this right?

Lastly, what size were your mets (liver/lungs) before treatment started? Getting to NED would be outstanding.

Maggie

kk1 · 05-02-2006, 06:30 AM

Hi Maggie;

I had the weekly treatment and worked most of the time. I could not work on the day of treatment and was tired on day+2. If you get treatment on a friday afternoon then you can have most of the down time over the weekend. Still by the time I was at week 25 I was pretty darn tired and was not working very efficiently but my employer did not complain. I think they were amazed I was working at all, and everyone in my office helped me out.

kk1

Karen t · 05-03-2006, 04:26 PM

Hi Maggie,

I have been on weekly Herceptin for nearly two years and Navelbine (3 wks on/1 wk off) for nearly 10 mos. due lung mets that seem to be kept in check with this regimen. This is the second time I have had Navelbine - the previous stint was for 6 mos. Most of the time, I have no ill effects to speak of. There is some pain around the area of my earlier radiation on my sternum, some eye tearing (teardrops) that I only today learned was related to wkly Herceptin, some very minimal hair thinning. I have recently started given myself a Neupogen injection once a wk for white cell count. That's about it.

Karen

Maggie C · 05-03-2006, 05:09 PM

Karen -

Curious as to why you are receiving weekly v. every 3 week Herceptin. What's the rationale?

I'm starting to think that my Herceptin dosage post-chemo was insufficient, either frequency or dosage.

Maggie

jojo · 05-03-2006, 05:26 PM

I only took Xeloda, so I can't vouch much for those chemo's you just mentioned, but I did ask my onc nurse recently. She said that Abraxane (what I am currently having) was the better drug, and Xeloda & Navelbine are just about in their own 2nd tier (in terms of effective chemo's).

Some ladies require additional chemo's in order to have Herceptin being effective to keep their cancers at bay or bring them to NED. The others just luck out with Herceptin alone. I seem to be part of the unfortunate group. It all depends on our cell make-up.... I wish we could know! This is the $64 million question!

As for the weekly VS 3-week Herceptin, this drug is still so new that nobody really knows the difference. For now, it is mostly just conveinence to your schedule. In the long run, though, the 3-week turns out to be cheaper on the medical-bill front.

pattyz · 05-04-2006, 09:23 AM

Maggie,

No one knows how YOU will respond to the different chemo/Herceptin combos...

I did a few months of Navelbine/Herceptin to get body into NED back in the fall of '02. Still have body NED. ( my mets were to mediastinal node/s, 'spot' on lung and pelvis)

Herceptin alone does not have a real good record of response. Only in combination with chemo does it jump to high response rates.

Do you have a port? If so, the Navelbine could indeed be the way to go, first.

I've also most recently been on a low dosage of Xeloda (2000mg a day) combined with Temodar for my brain mets. The Xeloda at this dosage was 'easier' than the Navelbine, but again, EVERYONE is different as to response/side effects etc.

Navelbine was a drug first used in primary lung cancer... it is NOT a 'lightweight' chemo!

Best of wishes to you,
pattyz xo

Maggie C · 05-04-2006, 10:18 AM

Jo Jo and Patty -

Looks like I may be starting with Navelbine. My onc called yesterday and seems to have changed his mind about another round of Taxotere. I'm also schedule 2nd and 3rd opinions within Kaiser, UCLA and City of Hope. We are also scheduling an MRI because I want to make sure the dizziness which has persisted since finishing chemo in January is not due to brain mets.

RE: Navelbine ... what about hair loss?

Maggie

pattyz · 05-04-2006, 12:18 PM

Glad to hear about the brain MRi.

No hair loss with the Navelbine. Thinning...but my hair has been thinning now for a lonnng time, so can't pin it to the N. No one else 'notices' what seems thinning to me.

I did have some 'pinball' pains that were short lived with a jaw ache that lasted for 20mins and 10mins with first two tx's. Counts would drop but return to 'good' by next round. Fatigue was cumulative. Felt 'yucky' for a few days after infusions. That's it.

Perhaps the low counts were the cause of my resistant UTI... it went into kidney and THAT sent me to emergency. New anti-b took care of it.

I stopped this combo when scans showed NED, as I'd do it again in a heart beat if/when needed and didn't want to 'burn my bridges' (stay with it and become resistant) with a good response duo.

xoxopattyz