re: info for erbitox

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trixiedixie
trixiedixie Member Posts: 10
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I had 5 weeks of erbitox (mine was called cetuximab)because of the danger of losing my hearing with the regular chemo. I feel grateful to have been given this instead of cistoplatin or anything else because the side effects were relatively few. You definitely get an acne like rash, although I would just call it bad acne. The worse you get it, the better the chemo is working, so they say. I did have some paper cut sores on the tips of my fingers and the soles of my feet have peeled but no hair loss, no nausea. The rash was really sore for a week or so but it's all but forgotten now. Hope your experience with it is successful and good luck. My thoughts are definitely with anyone going through chemo and radiaton now.

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  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #2
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    Hi Dixie
    Glad you did so well on your treatment and hope your continue to do well

    All the best to you
    Hondo
  • osmotar
    osmotar Member Posts: 1,006
    #3
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    G'evening trixiedixie,
    Why
    G'evening trixiedixie,

    Why did your onco choose erbitox over anything else?

    Linda
  • trixiedixie
    trixiedixie Member Posts: 10
    #4
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    osmotar said:

    G'evening trixiedixie,
    Why
    G'evening trixiedixie,

    Why did your onco choose erbitox over anything else?

    Linda

    Why Ebitox?
    Hello there,

    It was a last minute question from the onco when I went in for the first meeting to set up the plan. Everything was going pretty routinely and just as we were wrapping it up he said, more as an afterthought, "Oh, and your hearing is okay? No trouble with your ears or anything?" I told him that I have pretty bad ears, that I wear hearing aids and that what started this whole thing was a visit to an Ear Nose and Throat for my ears and he discovered the tumour on my tonsil. He immediately did an about turn and said I wouldn't be able to take cistoplatin as there was a good chance I would lose my hearing permanently and that Cetuximab was the stuff for me, if I was approved. I didn't argue, I was just happy we got that established in time.
  • trixiedixie
    trixiedixie Member Posts: 10
    #5
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    Hondo said:

    Hi Dixie
    Glad you did so well on your treatment and hope your continue to do well

    All the best to you
    Hondo

    Hi Hondo,
    Thanks for the
    Hi Hondo,

    Thanks for the good wishes. I hope all is going well for you too.

    Cheers, Dixie
  • Ed_PortOrange
    Ed_PortOrange Member Posts: 110
    #6
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    osmotar said:

    G'evening trixiedixie,
    Why
    G'evening trixiedixie,

    Why did your onco choose erbitox over anything else?

    Linda

    Tinnitus here
    Likewise when my onco heard I suffered from tinnitus he elected to use erbitux only, instead of a cisplatin and erbitux combo.

    Best wishes to all!

    Ed
  • Fire34
    Fire34 Member Posts: 365
    #7
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    Erbitux
    Trixie
    I also had Erbitux. My treatment was 18 weekly 250 mg doses. I was part of a clinical trail with it at the U of Chicago.
    My rash was terrible, as well as my fingers/toes -:)Did you have any other chemo drugs with it? I am glad it also worked for you, I am currently 20 months post.
    Wishes & Prayers on your recovery
    Dave
  • trixiedixie
    trixiedixie Member Posts: 10
    #8
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    Fire34 said:

    Erbitux
    Trixie
    I also had Erbitux. My treatment was 18 weekly 250 mg doses. I was part of a clinical trail with it at the U of Chicago.
    My rash was terrible, as well as my fingers/toes -:)Did you have any other chemo drugs with it? I am glad it also worked for you, I am currently 20 months post.
    Wishes & Prayers on your recovery
    Dave

    Hi Dave,
    I did not have any
    Hi Dave,

    I did not have any other chemo drugs with the Erbitux and my onco shortened my chemo treatments from 7 to 5 because he said the Erbitux reacted differently with the radiation and so he was able to ramp up the radiation and accomplish in 5 weeks what normally would have taken 7 weeks. When it was done, I was really glad I didn't have that extra two weeks to go. I was ready for complete bed rest. We were really impressed with how fast the tumours in my lymph nodes just disappeared. I'm only 13 weeks out of treatment and still haven't had any scans or anything but I am optimistic that in September he will find good news.
    All the best to you in your recovery as well,
    Dixie
  • connieprice1
    connieprice1 Member Posts: 300 Member
    #9
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    Is the motivation there to cure it?
    Hi Trixy, Hopefully Erbitux and radiation did the trick. My wife Connie's tumors responded almost immediately to the chemo. She did induction chemo, the drugs were cisplatin, doxetaxol, cetuximab and 5FU via a pump for 4 days. She also tolerated the cetuximab easily although we really don't know which chemo drug was best for her since she did 4 at once. Actually she did the 4 drugs the 1st week, the second week was cetuximab only and she had the 3rd week off, then she was to repeat this regiment 3 times for a total of 9 weeks. After her second dose of the 4 drugs though she had a negative reaction to the chemo and was hospitalized for 34 days. I hope that doctors are closely monitering your progress and all other patients who have not had to endure the nausea and other side effects of some of these drugs. I read that 5FU has been around since the 1950s and it made me wonder why with all the money spent on cancer research would we still using a drug developed in the 50's. Cancer treatment baffles me as it seems more research has been done for drugs to control the nausea than the cure of cancer. Are cancer cures being researched constantly by our government or are we leaving this research to pharmaceutical companies that I question their motivation. Cetuximab (Erbitux) only attacks the cancerous cells and is definitely on the right track to combat cancer. Our government is broke and our health care system is nonexistant and a person has to question is the motivation there to cure cancer or just to come up with better treatments after the fact.
  • jim and i
    jim and i Member Posts: 1,788 Member
    #10
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    connieprice1 said:

    Is the motivation there to cure it?
    Hi Trixy, Hopefully Erbitux and radiation did the trick. My wife Connie's tumors responded almost immediately to the chemo. She did induction chemo, the drugs were cisplatin, doxetaxol, cetuximab and 5FU via a pump for 4 days. She also tolerated the cetuximab easily although we really don't know which chemo drug was best for her since she did 4 at once. Actually she did the 4 drugs the 1st week, the second week was cetuximab only and she had the 3rd week off, then she was to repeat this regiment 3 times for a total of 9 weeks. After her second dose of the 4 drugs though she had a negative reaction to the chemo and was hospitalized for 34 days. I hope that doctors are closely monitering your progress and all other patients who have not had to endure the nausea and other side effects of some of these drugs. I read that 5FU has been around since the 1950s and it made me wonder why with all the money spent on cancer research would we still using a drug developed in the 50's. Cancer treatment baffles me as it seems more research has been done for drugs to control the nausea than the cure of cancer. Are cancer cures being researched constantly by our government or are we leaving this research to pharmaceutical companies that I question their motivation. Cetuximab (Erbitux) only attacks the cancerous cells and is definitely on the right track to combat cancer. Our government is broke and our health care system is nonexistant and a person has to question is the motivation there to cure cancer or just to come up with better treatments after the fact.

    I agree about the research
    I agree about the research for cancer cure and prevention. Not just for cancer. It seems that nly the drug companies are doing research and that is only to cure the symptoms and side effects. I believe more money needs to go towards prevention of and cure of diseases. Don't get me wrong, I am glad they have the drugs to prevent nausea and other side effects but wow how great it would be if you did not have to go through treatment at all.

    Debbie

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