GBM IV - Etoposide

Blissings
Blissings Member Posts: 1
in Brain Cancer #1

Hi all,

 

My father was diagnosed with GBM almost 3 years ago. Yesterday we found out that in the last two months since his last MRi his tumor has spread and almost doubled. He had been on temozolmide the last year everyday low dose and yesterday we switched to Etoposide low dose every day. 

 

The down side to all of this is that he has recently lost his ability to speak. He gets out a word or two and cannot communicate what he is thinking. Has anyone encountered this before? It's so hard to not know what to do to help. He is starting to see a speech therapist next week but not being able to talk to him about how he feels is heartbreaking. I just want to help him in any way i can. 

ALso, does any one have any experience with Etoposide everyday low dose? Side effects? effectiveness?

 

THanks.

Comments

  • mccindy
    mccindy Member Posts: 81
    #2
    GBM

    Hello Blissings,

    I have a friend who lost a sister to GBM, and another who lost his wife to GBM.  Both of them reported that the loss of communication was a difficulty their loved one suffered once the tumor started to grow again.  Sometimes the communication can be improved with the use of steroids, reducing swelling which may be causing some of the difficulty.  My one friend who lost her sister said that toward the end, her sister completely lost the ability to communicate, and from other blogs I've read, this is fairly common.  It's frustrating for the person going through it, so try to be as patient as possible.  I'm so sorry for what you are going through, but glad for your dad that you are there to support him.

    My apologies, I'm not familiar with the medication you are asking about.  If you would like to talk to some family of GBM patients, also try www.cancerforums.net, and check the brain tumor page.  Both forum moderators are quite familiar with GBM.

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