Avastin used alone

rthornton
rthornton Member Posts: 346 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Has anyone been treated with an Avastin-only regimen? I know someone that did this, but I cannot seem to get in touch with him lately. I'm curious if this is an effective treatment to use Avastin and no other drugs.

Rodney

Comments

  • markatger
    markatger Member Posts: 314
    #2
    Hi Rodney : )

    I too remember hearing of at least one person on here who was doing a maintenance Avastin by itself.

    I asked my Doctor about it. He told me that it wasn't effective by itself. But, my oncologist is always very busy and I see him for like a milli-second sometimes. He might have been giving me the short and quick answer.

    I have read some info on the internet saying that it is more effective with other chemo drugs - they potentiate each other. But those articles didn't say that Avastin doesn't work at all by itself just that it works better with other chemo.

    If someone is doing it alone, I would think that their oncologist knew the pros and cons of that method.

    Maria
  • Betsydoglover
    Betsydoglover Member Posts: 1,248 Member
    #3
    markatger said:

    Hi Rodney : )

    I too remember hearing of at least one person on here who was doing a maintenance Avastin by itself.

    I asked my Doctor about it. He told me that it wasn't effective by itself. But, my oncologist is always very busy and I see him for like a milli-second sometimes. He might have been giving me the short and quick answer.

    I have read some info on the internet saying that it is more effective with other chemo drugs - they potentiate each other. But those articles didn't say that Avastin doesn't work at all by itself just that it works better with other chemo.

    If someone is doing it alone, I would think that their oncologist knew the pros and cons of that method.

    Maria

    Rodney -

    My oncologist told me essentially the same thing as Maria's. She does not believe that Avastin alone has a "maintenance" value. Maybe Xeloda and Avastin, but not Avastin only.

    Betsy
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #4
    Rodney -

    I have a good friend who has a slow-growth form of pancreatic cancer. He is being treated at MD Anderson. he is presently stage 4 - stable disease. He presently doesn't take any chemo. The plan for him, if he restages next week with some disease progression, is to go onto Avastin alone - a treatment every 2 or 3 weeks.

    Of course the results of the drug may differ between patients and cancer types - ida know...

    - SpongeBob
  • finner
    finner Member Posts: 230 Member
    #5
    spongebob said:

    Rodney -

    I have a good friend who has a slow-growth form of pancreatic cancer. He is being treated at MD Anderson. he is presently stage 4 - stable disease. He presently doesn't take any chemo. The plan for him, if he restages next week with some disease progression, is to go onto Avastin alone - a treatment every 2 or 3 weeks.

    Of course the results of the drug may differ between patients and cancer types - ida know...

    - SpongeBob

    howya
    I used Avastin alone for approx 4 months following folfiri stuff. In Dec, slight change in condition of met, so Avastin was discontinued and folfox started. Thats all I know. Is your onc considering it for you?

    Margo
  • rthornton
    rthornton Member Posts: 346 Member
    #6
    finner said:

    howya
    I used Avastin alone for approx 4 months following folfiri stuff. In Dec, slight change in condition of met, so Avastin was discontinued and folfox started. Thats all I know. Is your onc considering it for you?

    Margo

    My oncologist isn't considering it for me, I'M considering it for me. Being very, very single and plagued with a relentless Erbitux rash, I'm only curious what other drugs might be good to use (I'm currently using both Erbitux and Avastin, even though I've been in remission since last September). I haven't been particularly social through all of this treatment but I really miss having a social life of some kind. With the Erbitux rash, most of the time I don't even want to leave the house. And I've never overheard a conversation between two women lamenting the lack of unemployed men with stage four colon cancer and chemotherapy-induced facial rashes. At least I have an Erbitux break coming up in a few weeks, so I should make the best of it.

    Thanks for the info, guys!

    Rodney
  • themis01
    themis01 Member Posts: 167
    #7
    Mom used Avastin and Erbitux alone but it did not help her. However, her cancer was resistant to all chemo regimens.
    Erika
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #8
    rthornton said:

    My oncologist isn't considering it for me, I'M considering it for me. Being very, very single and plagued with a relentless Erbitux rash, I'm only curious what other drugs might be good to use (I'm currently using both Erbitux and Avastin, even though I've been in remission since last September). I haven't been particularly social through all of this treatment but I really miss having a social life of some kind. With the Erbitux rash, most of the time I don't even want to leave the house. And I've never overheard a conversation between two women lamenting the lack of unemployed men with stage four colon cancer and chemotherapy-induced facial rashes. At least I have an Erbitux break coming up in a few weeks, so I should make the best of it.

    Thanks for the info, guys!

    Rodney

    Rodney -

    from one single guy who did this to another - Thanks for the good laugh, brother! That was sarcastic as hell and I loved it!

    Cheers!

    - Sponge
  • nanuk
    nanuk Member Posts: 1,358 Member
    #9
    rthornton said:

    My oncologist isn't considering it for me, I'M considering it for me. Being very, very single and plagued with a relentless Erbitux rash, I'm only curious what other drugs might be good to use (I'm currently using both Erbitux and Avastin, even though I've been in remission since last September). I haven't been particularly social through all of this treatment but I really miss having a social life of some kind. With the Erbitux rash, most of the time I don't even want to leave the house. And I've never overheard a conversation between two women lamenting the lack of unemployed men with stage four colon cancer and chemotherapy-induced facial rashes. At least I have an Erbitux break coming up in a few weeks, so I should make the best of it.

    Thanks for the info, guys!

    Rodney

    You never know; there could be a sex-starved oncology nurse out there who just wants to take care of you. Bud
  • nanuk
    nanuk Member Posts: 1,358 Member
    #10
    I'm on Avastin/Erbitux mono (duo?) therapy..took them separately at first to test side effects, then both bi-weekly. Although no definitive diagnostics yet, CEA has come down from 21 to 6.
    Presently on vacation from both for a month or more-(more if I stay away) Bud
  • carmen07
    carmen07 Member Posts: 120 Member
    #11
    Rodney,
    My husband had the Avastin alone treatment after he had his combination chemo folfox after his liver resection. His oncologist suggested it at the time (12/05) as an option once every 3 weeks. He also had to take a blood thinner because the Avastin can cause blood clots. He did this for about four months and stopped it on his own. He had very high blood pressure. He was on meds for that also. We went down to Sloane for a second opinion and we were told that the Avastin is not effective alone and that his preventive treatment should have been once a week. The oncologist told us Avastin works better with combination. Hope this helps.

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