R-Epoch treatment

bobnkay said:

r-epoch treatment
Hi Danboy: My first treatment with r-epoch was in the hospital for continuous infusion. Tomorrow I will get treatment in the clinic and go home with a pump. I was wondering if your brother stays in the hospital for the week or is he getting a pump?
I hope your brother is feeling better now. So far, I have tolerated the first treatment quite well.

bobnkay said:

Hi DanBoy
I received the first treatment in Sunrise Hospital, Las Vegas. My second one was in the Oncology office in Bullhead City, Az. about 95 miles from Vegas. Right now I am in the hospital with pneumonia. I am hoping I will be able to get out and be well enough for the third treatment. Then I will drive to Green Bay, Wisconsin, (I live in a small town north of Green Bay) and hope to receive treatments 4-6. We chose to come to Arizona for the winter because of the snow/driving problems in Wisconsin. My last CAT Scan showed a lot of improvement with only the two treatments of R Epoch. That is very encouraging.

bobnkay said:

back on schedule with treatment
Hi Sue: I am back on schedule with treatment #4. Now the Dr. isn't so sure it was just pneumonia. There might have been several things going at once. It seems one of the drugs in the treatment can cause 'infiltrates' in the lungs. Since all the tests for virus, bacteria, fungus, came back negative, he feels it might be a side-affect of that drug. So this treatment it will be left out of the 'cocktail' and then maybe put back in at a later time, if my lungs are clear after this session.
How are things going with you?. bobnkay 4-29-11

catlinwade said:

R-epoch
Hello:
New here. I am going to start tx 4 of r-epoch. First was 5 days in hospital, rest have been by pump ( which I have to go Cancer Center daily to refill). I am 66 years old and was in reasonable good health. I used to run marathons and now a walk around a 1 mile track wears me out. I have NHL,unclassified....several testing sites/universities have been unable to get a specific diagnoses which is frustrating for me, my family and my onc. I try to maintain a positive healthy attitude but sometimes swing below the line. Mainly because of the unknown, easier to deal with what one knows then what one doesn't. My question right now is that I have been dealing with a lot of stomach discomfort (burning mostly). I believe this is somewhat "normal" but does anybody have some tips that might ease it a bit, or do I just tough it out. Will talk to onc about it when we meet again.

Hope all here are at peace, feeling good about life and as discomfort free as we can be. Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there!!

Richard

KMN said:

R CHOP for Mediastinal Large B Cell Lymphoma
My nephew was diagnosed Stage IV Primary Mediastinal Large Bcell Lymphoma at the beginning of April, 2011. He's was in pretty bad shape and was started on a chemo that was supposed to be given once every 21 days - I think it might be the R CHOP or Epoch that's been discussed. I've read where it can be given in 14 days if the person is in fairly good shape (instead of the 21 days). My question is: is it possible to get this chemo in less than 14 days? Or is that very dangerous? Unfortunately, he was given a 2nd round of this chemo by day five. The next day he had 5 gran mal siezures, devoloped sepsis, had to have fluid drained from his right lung, and put into a medically induced coma. A few days later they tried to bring him out of the induced coma but he didn't come out of within the first two days and they determined his brain stem was damaged and his brain was dead. They had to turn off life support (He was on a ventillator for about 1 1/2 wks)on April 9, 2011. What I don't understand is why did they give him that 2nd round of a 21 day chemo when he wasn't in fair condition (on a ventilator and kidneys were in partial failure) Can anyone help answer my questions. My sister (his mom) is soooo devastated as is the rest of the family. Thanks, Jack

dixiegirl said:

Stomach Burning
I am doing RICE chemo and this stuff gives me incredible heartburn. I pretty much live on Mylanta, Tums, and Pepcid. Have you tried any of that?

When I did the RCVP the first time I carried mylanta in my purse and would take swigs of it now and then to get through.

Call your chemo nurse and ask her.

Good luck to you!
Beth

bobnkay said:

back on schedule with treatment
Hi Sue: I am back on schedule with treatment #4. Now the Dr. isn't so sure it was just pneumonia. There might have been several things going at once. It seems one of the drugs in the treatment can cause 'infiltrates' in the lungs. Since all the tests for virus, bacteria, fungus, came back negative, he feels it might be a side-affect of that drug. So this treatment it will be left out of the 'cocktail' and then maybe put back in at a later time, if my lungs are clear after this session.
How are things going with you?. bobnkay 4-29-11

trcox57 said:

I'm in my second cycle of
I'm in my second cycle of epoch r for B cell follicular NHL. Previously did rcvp and Rituxan and bendamustine but relapsed after both courses with 3 months. Diagnosed in June 2009.
Epoch r is distinctly harder to tolerate after round 2. Numbness in my fingers feet and loss of taste and sore mouth when my WBC crashes.
My most bothersome side effect is getting winded getting off the couch and walking to the front door. I didn't have any of that with previous rounds. Also my resting heart rate stays about 110 for some reason. Got everything checked to make sure it's not some thing with cardio toxicity due to the adreomyacin or etopiside.
I'm told the side effects will likely escalate but to what degree depends .......
I'll try to report my experience and grateful for any info from those with similar circumstances.
TonyC

JP_NHL said:

Dose-adjusted EPOCH treatment
I was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in July 2012. I have a rare aggressive sub-class referred to as a "double-hit" translocation: there are two mutations going on concurrently. Consequently, the malignant tumor was doubling in area every two weeks.

I started treatment in August 2012. My regimen consists of Rituxan on Day 0 then a 24-hour cocktail of Etoposide, Vincristine and Doxorubicin for four consecutive days. On Day 5, I receive a smaller bag of a carcinogen called Cyclophosphamide. There are several drugs I take, mostly anti-fungal, anti-viral and antibacterial. I also take Prednisone, a strong steroid considered part of EPOCH regimen.

Last week I finished the 5th cycle. I had gone through my first three cycles without hitting the "nadir" (becoming neutropenic). Dose-adjusted EPOCH is flexible in that the dosage changes based on how the patient responds to treatment. Since I didn't hit the nadir, my high dosage was increased by 20% in rounds 2, 3 and 4. By cycle 4, my dosage was 75% higher than in round 1. Because the dosages were increasing, another drug, Mesna, was added to Day 5. Mesna counteracts the corrosive effects cyclophosphamide has on the bladder and kidneys. After cycle 4, I became neutropenic and had a nasty case of oral mucositis. Given the setback in round 4, my dosage for cycle 5 was reduced by 10%.

I have a big decision to make in the next week or so: Do I complete the 8 cycles of EPOCH and call it a day, or do I stop at 6 cycles and move forward with the stem cell transplant. My biggest concern is the long-term effect of high dosage chemo, which increases with the stem cell transplant. For example, exposure to high-dosage chemo increases the risk of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). This is when the bone marrow no longer produces healthy red and white blood cells.

Aside from NHL, I am a healthy and active male. I would jog frequently and do other exercises to keep me in shape. I cannot jog now (for risk of passing out), but I do walk a mile or so if it's a nice day and I'm feeling up to it. I also do modified exercises at home with dumbbells. I have a double-lumen PICC line in my right arm; it doesn't dissuade me from using it to do some basic lifting or isometrics (don't go overboard). The key is to stay active--physically, mentally, spiritually--esp. in between treatment. There are going to be your share of bad days, where all you can do is stay in bed and rest. That's fine. Like everything in life; it's a balance. Find the balance that works for you and stay positive!

JP