xofigo(radium223) bad side effects

I am new here.My husband was dx with stage 4 prostate cancer back in 2016.started out with hormone therapy then zytiga,docetaxel and jevtana.he was doing really well on chemo but his psa levels went up to 190 so his onco sugestet the current wonder drug xofigo.Allmost from the start he was not feeling to well and after third treament his blood counts went low and his psa shot up to 1100.They wanted to give him another shot but missed appt.due to not feeling well.so they stopped treatment.He now has ongoing issues with his digestive system,mostly upset stomach and poor appetite.I wish I would have done more research because from what I read so far the statistics on this treatment do not look good.Any input would be greatly appriciated.

Comments

  • Clevelandguy
    Clevelandguy Member Posts: 980 Member
    Alternate drugs?

    Hi Caretaker,

    You might want to try this link https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/prostate.

    They talk about various chemo drugs for Prostate cancer, you can review and talk with your Oncologist.

    Dave 3+4

  • VascodaGama
    VascodaGama Member Posts: 3,638 Member
    Immunocompromised situation

    Caretaker,

    Xofigo is associated with low blood count and that leads to the symptoms your husband is experiencing. This radioisotope invades bone and in some cases it deteriorates the bone-marrow where red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are produced. You need counter measures to balance the effect. Inquire about medications but you can also help by changing diets, in particular with high protein diets rich in iron. Symptoms like fatigue and dizziness could be due to anemia which is a dangerous situation. He should get a blood test the soonest and get advice from his doctor.

    In fact, Neutropenia (low level of white blood cells) is a risk in PCa treatments using radiotherapy after chemotherapy. Guys with chronic kidney disease may experience a worsen status. I recommend you to consult a medical oncologist with the results of a full blood panel including the items related to liver, kidney, etc.

    https://www.xofigo-us.com/downloads/PP-600-US-3581-Patient-Fact-Sheet.pdf

    https://www.healthline.com/health/rbc-count

    Best wishes for full recovery.

    VGama

  • caretaker22
    caretaker22 Member Posts: 2
    edited January 2020 #4

    Immunocompromised situation

    Caretaker,

    Xofigo is associated with low blood count and that leads to the symptoms your husband is experiencing. This radioisotope invades bone and in some cases it deteriorates the bone-marrow where red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are produced. You need counter measures to balance the effect. Inquire about medications but you can also help by changing diets, in particular with high protein diets rich in iron. Symptoms like fatigue and dizziness could be due to anemia which is a dangerous situation. He should get a blood test the soonest and get advice from his doctor.

    In fact, Neutropenia (low level of white blood cells) is a risk in PCa treatments using radiotherapy after chemotherapy. Guys with chronic kidney disease may experience a worsen status. I recommend you to consult a medical oncologist with the results of a full blood panel including the items related to liver, kidney, etc.

    https://www.xofigo-us.com/downloads/PP-600-US-3581-Patient-Fact-Sheet.pdf

    https://www.healthline.com/health/rbc-count

    Best wishes for full recovery.

    VGama

    Thank you for reply and info

    Thank you for reply and info.After his third injection all his blood counts where low plus not feeling well so they stopped treatment.We went to ER last week,done boat load of tests,bloodwork and cat scan,everything came up normal,but he still has digestive track issues and no appetite.We are seing his onco this coming thursday.We where allways hopefull in this cancer journey,till now,I think those radium treatments are horrible.

    Blessings