protocol

Hello,

My wife is going to start on Herceptin, taxol, and paraplatin. I was wondering if anyone has taken this combination. I want to be able to help and try and have things ready for her.

Also, anyone heard of Essaic Tea and used it in combination with Chemo?


Thanks

[mts]

Isn't the paraplatin (carboplatin) given as a "ease the discomfort of mets" drug? Sounds like she has an aggressive treatment plan. My mother was on it and taxol for parotid cancer and she had nausea all the time (to the point that the combination of the two were what REALLY made her lose A LOT of weight and made her very weak... she moved in "slow motion" ). Herceptin was not around then- The taxol by itself was a breeze. I am currently on Herceptin and have had no side effects. As always, I can only tell you about my mom. Your wife may find the treatment entirely tolerable.


My best to her- and you for being there...

maria

[doh2pa]

Hi John,

I am on a very similar regimen for liver mets. I get weekly herceptin, carboplatin and a new BMS study drug that is similar to taxol. I am 9 weeks into a 24 week treatment plan so I have a few recommendations. However, remember that everyone responds differently.

On infusion day, I'm pretty wiped but the premeds they give me keep the nausea at bay. I am able to eat a light dinner that night, log a little sofa time then go to bed early. On day 2 and 3, I'm usually a little tired and take it easy. By day 4, I start to feel much better.

My side effects are:
1)Nausea, sour stomach - I manage these with one Marinol tab let 2 times per day. I also started taking Protonix - to manage all the stomach acid that seems to pop up. I have managed to maintain my weight the last 9 weeks!
2)Sleeplessness - I take a sleeping pill daily.
3)Constipation - This was a huge and unexpected problem until I figured out how to manage it. Starting the day before chemo, I take a Senekot every night for 4 nights.

These are my big 3 - also expect fatigue and hair to fall out. I heard some people get numbness in hands and feet from taxol, so I started taking 100 mg of Vit B6 every evening. No neuropathy so far!

Tell your wife to try to take one treatment at a time - it's too daunting to focus on the war - win a battle every day!

Wishing you both hope and strength,
Donna

This is our second time around. She has been stable for 3 years after Chemo and aridimex. But here it is again! Thanks for the info on the regiment. I wasn't sure what to expect for her. The hair we knew. It's only hair.


This site is great! Thanks again!

John

[athena453]

Hi John,

Sorry I didn't catch your question earlier. I just finished taxotere and carboplatin with herceptin on Nov. 10. I was dx with stage IIIC this May, 30/34 positive nodes, hormone receptor negative. I had some nausea with this combo. Finally had to up my dose of steroids (yuck) and use Emend. Fatigue was awful, but I also had a blood transfusion the day after my last chemo, so the anemia could have been causing that. My body was also very physically fatigued. I felt like I was 80 (I'm 27). I am still sore and achy. I did have constipation, which I found was much worse if I ate any sort of processed grain. Whole grains like bulgur or quinoa were fine. My sense of sweet taste was amplified to the point where even juices were too sweet. I did get some very mild neuropathy.
Also, this infusion takes a long time. I am not sure if taxol is the same legthwise as taxotere, though.
Hope this helps!

[lu ann]

I had my best results with herceptin, taxol, carboplatin, and zometa(used for bone mets). I was on a weekly cycle, 3weeks on/1off of the first three drugs and zometa monthly. The side effects were not as bad, as I was getting the tx. in smaller doses then what is given on the three week schedule. I lost about 80% of my hair and had achiness in my joints. About 3 months into treatment my hair started to grow back and the side effects had almost disappeared. My ca15-3 tumor counts were 345 at peak, 111 after radiation, and 21 after 6 months on the above chemo. They don't like to keep you on the taxanes for a long time as there can be much nerve damage. I did not have the numbness in my hands and feet, Praise the Lord for that! Blessings, Lu Ann.

[chrisy]

Hi John,

I had the exact same protocol - taxol/carboplatin/herceptin for liver mets dx in Sept 04.

Aside from the "normal" hair loss and eventual fatigue, I felt great the entire time, had no nausea or other serious side effects, and best of all, had a great response to this combination.

Your wife may do very well with this protocol - certainly don't "claim" any of the possible side effects until they happen!

Good luck to you.

[Alice]

This is the same combo I had. I was in a study to give carbo before stage 4. It really whiped me out.Fatigue was bad so I gave myself permission to rest.I was looking foreward to getting my strength back after the A/C because others who were on taxol and herceptin said it would be a piece of cake. They didn't know about the carboplatin thrown in. Constipation is also a big complaint and what I did was take a stool softener daily and keep track of BMs.If it goes a day longer than normal I would eat some prunes (not my favorite) at night and it usually did the trick.Good luck to you and your wife. It is great that she has someone like you watching out for her.

[athena453]

Alice, I agree. The fatigue with carboplatin mixed in is what really got me!!