Avastin for Oligodendroglioma Stage 3

Hi dear,

Please consult couple more doctors to learn about the options to help YOUR FAMILY make the  decision.What i learned from other' experiences and my own, Avastin can be extremely beneficial and dangeroous at the same time. Since Avastin is not a typical chemo (no poisonus medicine is injected to the sytem, rather it helps block the oxygen to the brain cell to make the cancerous cells starve thus shrink the tumor!) , I heard a lot of people buy quality time with Avastin with no side effect. Actually, I heard people feel better during the treatment!.

On the other hand, it can cause brain bleeds that is fatal that is what happend to my husband(he had Oligo 3  you can see my post in "Help please - GBM getting close to 11 months" to see my husband's history).It only took 2 weeks for us after the first Avastin infusion. Please know that my husband had some build up of blood even before which the doctor told us would not be an issue. But , now I wonder whether that was n't a highest risk in my husband's situation!! and my kids comforts me we had no other option that taking this high risk path,a s the doctor reommended. In our case, the doctor told us if we take the risk of letting the tumor grow without giving Avastin, he would go to a coma very soon. My only comfort is the fact that we did our best with what we knew at that time.

So, my answer is that nobody knows the outcome. All I can say to you is,  research your best, team up with your doctor, pray, and take the path following your  heart telling you what to do.

Prayers and positive thoughts on your way,

Raani

I would also like to hear from others that have had this treatment.  My brother has been living with an oligodendroglioma grade 3, for 14 years now.  The tumor was resected when it was first discovered and he went through radiation treaments at that time.  In the last 4 years he has had regrowth, another surgery, 2 brain bleeds,  a year of Temodar, that just ended last October. In March regrowth was discovered, another surgery and restarted on Temodar, he's now had two Temodar treatments since the surgery. 

Last Friday, he had two seizures and an MRI showed the regrowth in three months of a tumor 1"x1"x2".  He refused another surgery, since it's only been three months and clearly the tumor is now Temodar resistant.  Our oncologist is suggesting Avastin, and I fear that this will further his chance of another bleed, which in his case will likely be deadly.  Anybody else have anything good to say about this treatment?

BenLenBo said:

Brain Tumor Society just

Brain Tumor Society just reported new findings on Avastin- results were not as expected.  Please read the article. braintumor.org

 

I read that article. Most of people I've communicated with were prescribed Avastin after other treatment options had failed. I don't think that Avastin is usually considered a first-choice treatment option, except for extremely bad situations, like GBMs that are really large and inoperable.

For my son's situation, Avastin was considered a last option and was given more to provide a better quality of life, rather than managing brain cancer. A better quality of life....words fail me.

Avastin was not good for my son. We don't  know if he died from the complications of Avastin or from the chemo or from the tumor itself. He suffered a significant brain bleed while taking Avastin and we did not know if it was caused by the tumor bleeding or from the Avastin.

However, I have heard from many people who were helped by Avastin. I think it depends on the individual patient and their ability to tolerate the treatment. If we had to do it all over again, we probably would still have done Avastin. We didn't really have any other viable options.

Never ever give up.

Love and blessings,

Cindy in Salem, OR

Ninamom said:

Avastin side effects

I'm hoping someone will answer.  My 31 year old daughter had her first Avastin on Friday.  Saturday and today she has a terrible headache with blurred vision.  Did anyone have these side effects?  Do they get better or should we be more concerned? Thanks for any answers.

Our 16 year old daughter has had 21 treatments of Avastin without any complications at all.  Her diagnosis is Anaplastic Astrocytoma left frontal lobe.  Complete excision June 2012.  She is enrolled in a clinical study to see how Avastin does as a front line treatment.  She did 6 weeks of radiation/Vorinistat last summer and now is finishing up her 12 cycles of monthly Temodar and biweekly Avastin.  The Avastin has been a piece of cake for her.....she has struggled more with the Temodar.  The follow up MRIs have shown no recurrence.  Her AA tumor never did present as a typical High Grade.  No contrast, no edema, no mass effect on surrounding tissue, no symptoms at all.  It was found by accident when we had her checked for possible concussion.  From what I have seen on here there is really a wide range on how patients react to this drug.  Good luck to you and your girl.

Sara