Avastin

Brenda3.16 · February 2010

Hi. I am home from work today because of a snow day at our school. We have about a foot of snow in NE PA and it is still snowing ! My daughter is skiing with my sister and I am stranded at home alone with lots of time to worry about things !

I am scheduled to start Avastin on Friday. This will be added to the Xeloda that I have been taking since September. 3 weeks ago I had a VATS surgical procedure to biopsy very tiny spots on my lung that never lit up on a PET scan , but were on the CT scans all along. Unfortunately they came back as cancer. I was very upset by this.

I was reading on the internet that you should not start Avastin for at least 28 days after surgery. It will only be 3 weeks after my biopsy. I was in the hospital overnight and had to take a week off after .

I am wondering if it is too soon to start the Avastin ? I still have pain in my lung from the procedure. I called my oncologist and am waiting for them to call me back.

Also what side effects should I expect from Avastin ?

I do not get on the boards every day like so many of you do, but I can't tell you how much you all mean to me. I do think about you all every day and wish everyone the best. I am so impressed with the knowledge that you have. You have have researched so many new treatments that I have never even heard of. I feel overwhelmed at times by all the information. I am lucky to be working full time at a job that I love, but it does limit my time. I really appreciate everyones willingness to share their information. I know that you all have put a lot of time in your research, and it has helped me in so many ways. I hope at sometime I will be able to help some of you.

Love,

Brenda

Sundanceh · February 2010

Avastin Answers
Brenda

This is correct - Avastin is not supposed to be given until you are 4-6 weeks out of a surgery. So, you need to wait and question the onc if they are trying to infuse this to you earlier than they are supposed to. My onc waited until after my liver surgery a couple of months before I began taking that one.

Other folks will differ with me on the effects of Avastin, mine always seem to be the exception and not the rule. I took Avastin for 8-months and developed an issue with my heart - I find myself "catching" my breath when the heart beats up or trying to breath in...it happens so many times a day I stopped counting. Never had the problem before Avastin so I'm sure that is the cause.

I read the "white paper" on Avastin from the pharmaceutical company itself. Long term use of Avastin can lead to congestive heart failure - but it does not mention "how much time" that is.

Alot of folks will tell you they took it with no problems - they are the lucky ones. It did affect me though and I was glad to finally get off it. I believe it was effective as it chokes off blood supply to the tumor and it dies off.

Let the onc know when you got out of surgery and he should agree that there is a waiting period before introducing Avastin - if he does not, bring it up for him. I don't know what it would do, but they would not make you wait to take it if there was not a reason for doing so.

And lastly, when taking Avastin...it will be by infusion. The first dose should be given to you in a 90-minute drop - 2nd treatment is a 60-minute drop - 3rd treatment is a 30-minute drop. All subsequent drops should be infused in 30-minutes. They want to see how you tolerate the treatment, so they start at the top of the scale and work their way back down.

I'm wishing you well with this - any problems with breathing or the heart, notify your onc immediately.

-Craig

geotina · February 2010

Hi Brenda
Everything Craig said is spot on. I always wondered why your oncologist never gave you Avastin from the beginning, no matter, you are getting it now. It works great on mets. George did not have any specific immediate side effects from Avastin that I know of. He was getting Folfox and that in itself had its side effects. He just gets 5FU/Leucovorin every week via IV (takes about a half hour) adding Avastin every other week. He never had Xeloda. He is still pretty tired at night and generally goes to bed early but heck, he has cancer, he is on chemo and he continues to work full time and is feeling pretty good. Kids in Michigan got a snow day today, first one this year, so we are sending the snow over to you guys. Wasn't that much snow but it fell most overnight about 10 inches. Good luck with the Avastin - Tina

Almost forgot - It was about 4 weeks after George's colon resection that he started chemo that included Avastin. Onc wanted George on chemo as soon as possible after resection due to the spread to liver and lungs.

AnneCan · February 2010

Hello brenda,I can't
Hello Brenda,

I can't comment on the length of time to wait after surgery before starting avastin, however I can tell you that I have now had 9 treatments of folfiri + avastin, + right now I am feeling fantastic. I have had great success with this treatment + I have found any side effects manageable. Of course it is difficult for me to know what side effects are from which drug since I started it all @ the same time, but mostly what I feel is fatigue (which lately doesn't seem as bad as it was at first), sometimes weakness + mouth tenderness/sores (really important to rinse mouth frequently, in my case with a baking soda solution). I have not yet had surgery for either my colon cancer or liver mets; however after 4 treatments of folfiri + avastin my colon cancer was "not detectable" + 3 out of 4 of my liver mets had shrunk, with the 4th not growing. I will be going for another scan soon + am hoping this trend is continuing. I wish you great success with your treatment.

Crow71 · February 2010

Hi Brenda,
I hesitate to say
Hi Brenda,
I hesitate to say anything that would differ from what Craig said. The dude's forgotten more about this stuff than I'll every learn. But I'll share with you what little I know and my experience with avastin. I had my colostomy done August 24, '09, and began receiving FOLFOX on Sept. 1st - 9 days later. My onc wanted to start avastin as soon as possible, but said that I needed to wait 4-6 weeks. I began avastin with my 2nd treatment - 21 days after the surgery. The reason to wait is because avastin inhibits the body's ability to create vascular cells. So you need to be healed up from whatever surgery or procedure you've had. The doctors looked at my incisions and stoma and decided that everything was healing up just fine and that starting the avastin sooner would not cause any problems. I did not have the primary resected - just the colostomy. A fairly minor surgery compared to what lots of us go through. Perhaps your dr is looking at your specific case and believes that you are all healed up as well. You are wise to make sure he knows about the pain you have.
I hope this helps you a bit. Take care.
Roger

JR · February 2010

Side effects.
Hello Brenda,
One side effect that I have, that I believe is caused by Avastin is bloody nose. I have been on Avastin for almost a year now and have frequent bloody nose. Blow your nose carefully.

Good Luck,

John

Brenda3.16 · February 2010

JR said:
Side effects.
Hello Brenda,
One side effect that I have, that I believe is caused by Avastin is bloody nose. I have been on Avastin for almost a year now and have frequent bloody nose. Blow your nose carefully.

Good Luck,

John

Thank you for all of the
Thank you for all of the information. There is something really comforting about hearing the information from people who have actually "been there".

Roger you made me feel better after hearing that you started the Avastin 21 days after surgery. Mine will be 23 days.

My oncologists office is closed today due to the Blizzard we are experiencing so I was not able to ask them any questions about this yet.

Brenda

PhillieG · February 2010

Avastin
I had to be off Avastin for 1 month before I had surgery.
The side effect I had from Avastin was major shrinking of liver tumors.

Bummer, I know...
:-)

Brenda3.16 · February 2010

PhillieG said:
Avastin
I had to be off Avastin for 1 month before I had surgery.
The side effect I had from Avastin was major shrinking of liver tumors.

Bummer, I know...
:-)

You are very funny ! I hope
You are very funny ! I hope I have the same side effect. I like your picture. My daughter is 14 and she is always begging me to play ping pong with her in our cold dusty garage where the ping pong table is stored. She beats me every time. You look like a pro !

scouty · February 2010

Depends on the surgery
Major or minor..........I had avastin 2 weeks after having my port installed (minor surgery). Avastin can make you a "free bleeder" so they want to make sure all incisions are healed before getting it or it will delay the healing.

That was only a month after it had been FDA approved back in 2005 so things may have changed since then.

Lisa P.

luv3jay · February 2010

I've been on Avastin from
I've been on Avastin from the beginning with no side effects. It infuses over 30 minutes every two weeks. Well, actually I do a one side effect and that is bloody noses. My surgeon always waits 4-6 weeks after last chemo before he/she will operate because it does make you bleed. Hope this helps.

-Sheri

PhillieG · February 2010

Brenda3.16 said:
You are very funny ! I hope
You are very funny ! I hope I have the same side effect. I like your picture. My daughter is 14 and she is always begging me to play ping pong with her in our cold dusty garage where the ping pong table is stored. She beats me every time. You look like a pro !

:-)
My 16 yr old crushes me every time we play and my 10 yr old is gaining on me now! My 16 yr old has been trying to get a table tennis club going at his high school since October. They have 3 tables, he has 20+ kids signed up, and the "red tape" is knee-deep...
A good life-lesson for him. he's keeping after them but I hope they set it up before he graduates in 2 years!

I wish you the best with the Avastin, I started it as soon as it was approved. It really did save my life!
-p

mom_2_3 · February 2010

Good luck
Brenda,

I have not had Avastin but I am wishing you luck as you start this treatment protocol on Friday.

Amy

Avastin

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