Erbitux Trial

wrb123

MY 66 yr old husband has non small cell lung cancer. Has been accepted into Erbitux trial, will get high radiation doses and chemo drugs Erbitux, Taxol and Carbo.

Overwhelmed with info on drugs and side effects. Would like to connect with others who have started chemo/radiation. Do you feel the same way? Not knowing if the decsion you are making is the right one.

soccerfreaks

What is the decision?
These days, 66 is a relatively young age for most folks. And non-small cell lung cancer tends to be less aggressive than small cell, at least from what I've been told and what I've read.

I read in this board and others every day of people on Erbitux, so I find it sort of surprising that it is a 'trial drug'. That said, I did have carboplatin and taxol chemotherapy for a number of months following a surgery to remove a malignant tumor in my right lung (lobectomy...lowest lobe of right lung).

I had previously endured 35 radiation treatments along with cisplatin chemo, following a length surgery to fix a tongue/neck cancer problem.

I am now NED (No Evidence of Disease). I never doubted my doctors, and I never doubted my support system.

There comes a time, I suppose, when continuing to fight may be a futile cause, and one that causes more pain than it is worth (the quality versus quantity of life discussion). But if your husband is just getting into this, and if the doctors are eager to do the chemo and the rads, at the very least it deserves a chance. Side effects differ from person to person, after all, and the very fact that doctors WANT to do the treatment means, to me, that there is some hope, if not for cure, at least for a lengthy period of high quality life.

Best wishes to your husband and his family.

Hope and humor!

Take care,

Joe

wrb123

soccerfreaks said:

What is the decision?
These days, 66 is a relatively young age for most folks. And non-small cell lung cancer tends to be less aggressive than small cell, at least from what I've been told and what I've read.

I read in this board and others every day of people on Erbitux, so I find it sort of surprising that it is a 'trial drug'. That said, I did have carboplatin and taxol chemotherapy for a number of months following a surgery to remove a malignant tumor in my right lung (lobectomy...lowest lobe of right lung).

I had previously endured 35 radiation treatments along with cisplatin chemo, following a length surgery to fix a tongue/neck cancer problem.

I am now NED (No Evidence of Disease). I never doubted my doctors, and I never doubted my support system.

There comes a time, I suppose, when continuing to fight may be a futile cause, and one that causes more pain than it is worth (the quality versus quantity of life discussion). But if your husband is just getting into this, and if the doctors are eager to do the chemo and the rads, at the very least it deserves a chance. Side effects differ from person to person, after all, and the very fact that doctors WANT to do the treatment means, to me, that there is some hope, if not for cure, at least for a lengthy period of high quality life.

Best wishes to your husband and his family.

Hope and humor!

Take care,

Joe

Erbitux Trial
Joe,
Thank you for the reply. Erbitux is being trialed in lung cancer. It has been used in colon, head and neck cancer with success. So now they are targeting lung cancer.

Will hang in with "Hope & Humor". Thanks for being there.

csnchennai

wrb123 said:

Erbitux Trial
Joe,
Thank you for the reply. Erbitux is being trialed in lung cancer. It has been used in colon, head and neck cancer with success. So now they are targeting lung cancer.

Will hang in with "Hope & Humor". Thanks for being there.

Updates??
Hi wrb123, Any updates on how your husband responded for the treatment?