Maintenance chemo of erbitux after resection of colon and liver

integrative maintenance
Some of us have tried alternative means of (immuno)chemo and maintenance even for high stage CC.

Part of ours includes a low dose oral 5FU prodrug, natural COX2 inhibitors with low dose aspirin, and mushroom extracts including PSK. The biggest decision is cimetidine, perhaps easier for females at high dose, and dependent on tissue biomarkers like CA19-9, VEGF and EGFR signaling for long term benefit. All aong with high supplements like some that Life Extension Foundation recommends and, separately, other essential nutrients at higher intake.

tanstaafl said:

integrative maintenance
Some of us have tried alternative means of (immuno)chemo and maintenance even for high stage CC.

Part of ours includes a low dose oral 5FU prodrug, natural COX2 inhibitors with low dose aspirin, and mushroom extracts including PSK. The biggest decision is cimetidine, perhaps easier for females at high dose, and dependent on tissue biomarkers like CA19-9, VEGF and EGFR signaling for long term benefit. All aong with high supplements like some that Life Extension Foundation recommends and, separately, other essential nutrients at higher intake.

We just started Juicing and
We just started Juicing and using Aim Products. Food can give us most of our nutrition and when we need more we have the supplements. They are all made in the USA or Canada and do not try to break any laws.

Best Always, mike

Hope this helps ...
sdp, congratulations on being NED and past the point of surgeries. I am writing to share my mother's experience since there are some similarities.

She is currently on and has been on maintenance chemo for the past 9 months. She is NED (her last set of scans were just done this week), but her oncologist has encouraged her to stay on low-dose Xeloda and Avastin for as long as she can. This scenario gets evaluated every three months during "scan season".

Xeloda & Avastin is tolerable, it seems,to my mom though I must confess it is NOT easy. She still has side effects ... but it provides a safety net for me and her, both. I feel by doing this she is actively doing something to fight any residual, microscopic disease.

Perhaps if Erbitux is too harsh on you, you can discuss switching to another maintenance program?

the dreaded rash
I had the dreaded Erbitux Rash... but I had a lot of fun with it by helping people laugh at or with me. it wasn't fun, but i made it as fun as possible.

the benefit for Erbitux for me was that it really works!

unlike many other drugs, the side effect often measures how well the drug is WORKING at its main goal... starving the cancer!

I dealt with the rash as long as they would allow it. I fought for them to continue, no matter how bad the rash was on my face, back, chest or inside my eyes or ears. I didn't care, as I was convinced that as bad as the outside of my skin was looking... this stuff was doing serious damage to the cancer on the inside of my body.

and, I was right!

I cannot have Erbitux of parts of the folfox cocktail anymore due to the side effects that I've had and am currently having.... but 80% of my cancer is gone now... and my skin repaired itself and I look like a new man. (I call it my 500,000 dollar chemical peal)! LOL

If you were asking for my advice... I'd take the Erbitux as long as possible, and fight through this.

I've read a lot about Erbitux and Avastin... they are both innovative drugs that can provide excellent benefits... IF your body can handle them.

challenge the stuff and fight like hell.

cheers

Joe