Has anyone taken cetuximab?

Hi friends,

I wanted to follow up with you all on my first dose experience. The session with the IV drip went without a hitch. After reading all the possible side effects with this drug, it was still in the back of my mind that I could have a severe reaction or worse. But as it turned out, my fears were unfounded just as your experiences suggested. However, later that evening I started to get a fever. My written instructions were to go directly to the emergency room if there is a fever higher than 100.4. I recorded 100.7, but felt so horrible I took a couple of tylenol, which brought my temp back to normal very quickly. I called my oncology hotline to let them know I was having a problem and got chewed out rather severely for taking something and no going directly to the emergency room. He told me if it spikes again to go directly this time. Of course, just as I was getting ready for bed, I started feeling lousy again and took a temperature of 100.5 this time. So, I went to emergency. $250.00 and 4 hours later, after doing all kinds of blood work and a chest x-ray, they determined that I was having a reaction from the drug, at my insistance, I might add. They wanted to give me a bunch of antibiotics, so I had to suggest that it could just be a reaction to the drug. The doctor responded with "It might be."  So they gave me three more Tylenol and finally sent me home . The next morning I felt pretty good except that I was feeling a little groggy in the head, but that seems to be getting better as I write this.

Sorry for the blow by blow here, but I'd like to ask what instructions others of you were given for fever. I spent hours in Emergency just to get the same remedy that I got chewed out for. What about you? All things considered, I consider this a positive outcome, I just wish I hadn't had to go to the emergency room.

All the best,

Mark

Killer-T said:

Cetuximab

This substance is NOT chemo. It is a monoclonal antibody. Not a poison. It works by supressing your body's epithelial growth factor which is something that cancer cells depend on to grow, much more than normal cells do.

Sorry that you have a reaction to it. Despite that I would suggest that the fever might be a good sign that your body is working to get rid of the cancer. When I started taking it I could see the tumor was starting to shrink in only 4 days! It worked great, with only a slight reddness on my nose and eventually an overgrowth of my cuticle on one big toe.

This stuff is ridiculously over-priced. My main complaint with it is that it only worked for about 3 months (for me). Apparently the cancer cells change constantly and they morphed into a mode where the new ones were resistant to it and so it started growing again.

That is when my sequencing results finally came back and I started on Immunotherapy, which worked (for me). I keep saying "for me" because everyone is different and results, side effects and how you feel in general can't be predicted from what you read on the Internet. Everyone is TRULY different! This is why sequencing is SO important.

Hi Killer-T

Thanks for your comments. I'm sorry to hear Erbitux wasn't the final solution for you. What is immunotherapy? Is that different from standard chemo drugs? I keep hearing how expensive Erbitux is, fortunatley it is covered entirely through my Kaiser plan (not that I'm necessarily recommending Kaiser). I guess I shouldn't complain about the cost of the emergency room.

In my case after two surgeries, there is no sign of cancer, so all this is just to prevent a re-occurance, so there is no way to tell, at the moment at least, if this is working or not.

Are you free of cancer at this time?

Mark