AVASTIN Treatment for O.C

JosieO

Is anyone on Avastin for Ovarian cancer? I was on Taxol and Avastin. Now just on Avastin. Was wondering if the results are as promising as they say. Also I was told I would not lose my hair on Avastin...well treatment 7 and I have no eyelashes and thining eyebrows...You know cancer is tough enough can it just leave our hair out of it! I always felt as long as I had eyelashes and brows I didn't "look sick" without them I do...

Cafewoman53

eyelashes
I agree I look much sicker without eyelashes. Yesterday I tried false eyelashes and even though I'm not good at putting them on they looked pretty good! Go to a beauty supply store they are pretty cheap there and just spend some time practicing putting them on. I am really happy that I don't have to look like I'm at death's door when I am feeling fine.
I think you can even go to Macys and if you buy them there they will put them on for you. I cut mine in thirds and glued them on that way I couldn't get the whole strip on for nothing.

Good Luck
Colleen

JosieO

Cafewoman53 said:

eyelashes
I agree I look much sicker without eyelashes. Yesterday I tried false eyelashes and even though I'm not good at putting them on they looked pretty good! Go to a beauty supply store they are pretty cheap there and just spend some time practicing putting them on. I am really happy that I don't have to look like I'm at death's door when I am feeling fine.
I think you can even go to Macys and if you buy them there they will put them on for you. I cut mine in thirds and glued them on that way I couldn't get the whole strip on for nothing.

Good Luck
Colleen

Eyelashes
Thanks Colleen

I think it's time to do that. Maybe it will help me feel better about myself.

Josie

Mwee

eyelashes and eyebrows
Isn't it just amazing how different we look without those eyelashes! I hardly recognized myself. I lined my eyes lightly with an eyeliner pencil and that helped some. BTW, it's also freaky how fast they grow back once the treatment is over.
(((HUGS))) Maria

JosieO

Mwee said:

eyelashes and eyebrows
Isn't it just amazing how different we look without those eyelashes! I hardly recognized myself. I lined my eyes lightly with an eyeliner pencil and that helped some. BTW, it's also freaky how fast they grow back once the treatment is over.
(((HUGS))) Maria

Eyelashes
Hi Maria

Thanks I had them grow back for 3 months then had to go back on treatment. This time it was a lower dose but weekly so they didn't start falling out till 8 weeks into treatment along with the little hair I had. Now they decided to just keep falling out even though I stopped my Taxol Aug 9th. Guess it's just a delayed reaction stupid hair! I can't believe how many times I got to sleep and dream of the day I have hair again. People tell me all the time not to worry about it, wonder if they would be as carefree about it if it was happening to them!

(((HUGS))Josie

Hissy_Fitz

Josie...Some women have had
Josie...

Some women have had good results with Avastin, others not so much. It's like so many other drugs....a shot in the dark.

I do believe it's a fairly easy drug to tolerate, though. That's the upside, I guess.

I finished six months of Carbo/Taxol and am now just over halfway thru a year of Taxol only. It was (almost) a walk in the park until infusion number seven. Taxol is a heavy duty drug, but I am hanging tough. Hope the Avastin works for you.

Carlene

PS....you and I were diagnosed about 3 weeks apart. Mine was 9/17/09

eward

avastin
My mom is on Avastin, methotrexate, and cytoxan for stage 4 primary peritoneal/ovarian cancer(she is 64 yrs old). Her disease is stable except for a recent spread to the breast. She has been on Taxotere/Carbo and Doxil previous to this combination of meds. I have read that Avastin can help to stabilize the disease. So far, my mom has tolerated these meds well.
I wish you the best.
Eileen

AmyJo45

avastin
Your hair most likely fell out from the Taxol. That always causes it. Avastin does not. I've also been on Avastin alone and in combination with other drugs. Been on the Avastin for at least 2 1/2 years and it hasn't made me lose my hair at all. It's always the chemo's.

JosieO

Hissy_Fitz said:

Josie...Some women have had
Josie...

Some women have had good results with Avastin, others not so much. It's like so many other drugs....a shot in the dark.

I do believe it's a fairly easy drug to tolerate, though. That's the upside, I guess.

I finished six months of Carbo/Taxol and am now just over halfway thru a year of Taxol only. It was (almost) a walk in the park until infusion number seven. Taxol is a heavy duty drug, but I am hanging tough. Hope the Avastin works for you.

Carlene

PS....you and I were diagnosed about 3 weeks apart. Mine was 9/17/09

Good results
Hi Carlene

Hope your doing well. I can certainly relate to the taxol treatment. I'm hoping I get a little break from that. I am still on Avastin until Dec 20th and so far so good. My CA-125 is down to 13 and my petscan is normal. Now if my feet would cooperate and start letting me feel them life would be good. OH the little things that make us happy. My eyelashes just started growing again and some peach fuzz on the brows. Think it was just a delayed reaction from the taxol. My 1 yr anniversary is right around the corner, as I see yours just past. Woohoo to us both. Hang tough girlfriend, your in my prayers.

Josie

JosieO

AmyJo45 said:

avastin
Your hair most likely fell out from the Taxol. That always causes it. Avastin does not. I've also been on Avastin alone and in combination with other drugs. Been on the Avastin for at least 2 1/2 years and it hasn't made me lose my hair at all. It's always the chemo's.

Avastin
Hi Amyjo

Thanks I thought it was from the Taxol too, but it had been almost a month that I was off it and couldn't imagine it was from taxol but now that it's coming in little by little I have to believe it was just a delayed effect. I see you've been on Avastin for 2 1/2 yrs. are you on "just" Avastin and is it helping?

gdpawel

Avastin in Ovarian Cancer
Tumor growth is dependent on angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is dependent on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Avastin directly binds to VEGF to directly inhibit angiogenesis. Within 24 hours of VEGF inhibition, endothelial cells have been shown (AngioRx Assay) to shrivel, retract, fragment and die by apoptosis. This is what is measured with the assay, which simultaneously measures direct antitumor activity and antivascular activity, death of existing endothelial (and associated) cells.

If the anti-angiogenesis drugs (Avastin) work the way they are supposed to work they block the activity of VEGF, to prevent the growth of new capillaries into the tumor and thereby sustain tumor growth. Perhaps Avastin "sensitive" tumors secrete relatively low levels of VEGF. Tumors which secrete relatively low levels of VEGF might be more susceptible to an agent which works by blocking VEGF.

The rationale underlying the use of anti-angiogenesis drugs (Avastin) against ovarian cancer is that (1) VEGF pathways are strongly associated with the development of malignant ascites, malignant pleural effusions and carcinomatosis, and (2) both VEGF receptors and VEGF ligands can be over-expressed in ovarian cancer.

According to clinical oncologists involved with cell culture assay testing, Avastin appears to better deliver the effects of other classes of drugs. In other words, Avastin facilitates vascular access of cytotoxics to tumors. Just as the GOG0218 and ICON7 trial results have shown.

However, single-agent Avastin has not been showing up being very productive in cell function analysis. What may limit the effectiveness of Avastin is that there are multiple ways by which tumors can evolve that are independent of VEGF and independent of angiogenesis. Tumors can acquire a blood supply by three different mechanisms: angiogenesis; co-option of existing blood vessels; and vasculogenic mimicry. All must be inhibited to consistently starve tumors of oxygen.

Instead of growing new blood vessels, tumor cells can just grow along existing blood vessels. This process, called co-option, cannot be stopped with drugs that inhibit new blood vessel formation. Some types of cancers form channels that carry blood, but are not actual blood vessels. Drugs that target new blood vessel formation also cannot stop this process, called vasculogeneic mimicry. The realization is that starving tumors by shutting off their blood flow requires that all three mechanisms be addressed.

Also, there are other proangiogenic factors that can affect whether Avastin works or not, FGF, PDGF, ephrin A1, angioprotein 1, IL8, etc. You need to attack these other targets as well. That is why we need combination anti-angioRX. If you can achieve this, then you don't really need the other drugs, which don't get into the tumor so well. Angiogenic attack provides true selective toxicity, something which is sorely lacking with all of the other treatments.

It could be vastly more important to measure the net effect of all processes (systems) instead of just individual molecular targets (like VEGF). The cell is a system, an integrated, interacting network of genes, proteins and other cellular constituents that produce functions. You need to analyze the systems' response to drug treatments, not just one or a few targets or pathways.

There are many pathways to the altered cellular (forest) function, hence all the different "trees" which correlate in different situations. Improvement can be made by measuring what happens at the end (the effects on the forest), rather than the status of the indiviudal trees.

Literature Citation:
Eur J Clin Invest 37 (suppl. 1):60, 2007
Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2006 ASCO Annual Meeting Proceedings Part I. Vol 24, No. 18S (June 20 Supplement), 2006: 17117
"Cure: Scientific, Social, and Organizational Requirements for the Specific Cure of Cancer" A. Glazier, et al. 2005

msfanciful

Hi Josie,
It's been a minute
Hi Josie,

It's been a minute that I've been away.

I popped in and saw your post. I've actually been on Avastin, Doxil and Carbo (on my 1st recurrence of my stage iv ovac).

For me my hair did not come out, but the results of my treatment only yielded me a 6-month remission. So because I was on three at one time ( it was a research study), I really don't know if it worked for me or not. Read my page if interested in the specifics of my cancer for the sake of saving writing. LOL!

I'm a stylist and I am a facilitator with the ACS "Look Good Feel Better" program in which I help ladies learn how to utilize makeup/wigs (which ACS gives to these ladies for free), while they undergo their treatments.

The lack of lashes are the biggy here (or the #2 issue to the hair loss :-) . But if able to give the illusion of having lashes, and this really helps... utilize liquid eyeliner and use it boldly on the upper lids. It really minimizes the effect of having no lashes.

Hang in there and I hope I've given you a good tip.

Let me know if you tried it and if it helped you or not,

Take care,
Sharon