Low energy, difficulty concentrating, "chemo" brain

unknown said:

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Thanks!
I've written a reply three times and it isn't getting posted. I don't know what's going wrong.

Gale was initially thought to have localized disease, but it was found (during surgery) to involve about half the nodes removed including the celiac node and nodes near the pancreas. He had an abdominal approach thru the diaphragmatic hiatus and an additional incision in the neck. The distal half of the esophagus and proximal one third of the stomach were resected. The surgical margins were dirty. More of a salvage procedure than a curative procedure. He did the adjuvant chemo and thrived in the face of poor prognosis. He had recurrence at the surgical anastomosis in 3/10, and it responded nicely to treatment. He actually looked and felt healthy 9/10 thru 12/10. The second recurrence was diagnosed last month, and he is back in treatment again.

The ritalin was suggested because Gale feels hazy, having a hard time concentrating, short tempered, and exhausted. He had mild symptoms with the cetuximab/irinotecan before, but he is having trouble even playing with his daughter now. I just wanted more info, and you have really helped me with the legwork! Thank you!!

Katie-

cher76 said:

My husband is also receiving
My husband is also receiving Cetuximab and Irinotecan at this time. So far he has had 2 treatments and is also experiencing extreme exhaustion. At this time he is still having trouble eating solid food so that makes it difficult to keep his energy level up. He has received 2 units of blood as well as iron to help with the low blood counts. As he was also diagnosed at Stage IV I would like to talk to you about your husband's diagnosis and treatment. There are so very few here at this stage.

Hi!
This is Gale's second go around with this protocol. It is harsh. He gets cetuximab once weekly, and he gets the irinotecan every three weeks. He is scheduled for 4 cycles (12 weeks). Then he'll got to the irinotecan every third week until...forever? We have difficulty knowing the extent of his cancer. His adenocarcinoma is not FDG avid. This means the cancer cells do not take up the sugar tracer that the PET scan measures. So, PET scans do not show the cancer. We know the adenocarcinoma is present in the remaining esophagus from lesions biopsied during endoscopy. We also know there is a "suspicious" mass adjacent to the diaphragm on the abdominal side. This is the second recurrence since esophagectomy, but Gale is a stubborn man. His goal is to see his daughter (4yr-old) go to school. I'm hoping he means he'll watch her go off to college!!
Katie-