Avastin & Irintecan

Kenny H.
Kenny H. Member Posts: 502 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1
I will start my 1st rd of my 2nd phase of infusions tomorrow 1/27. (mets to lungs) Anyone have any exp With these 2 drugs? I know some of the side effects will be diarreah, hair loss, nausea ect. Was wondering how bad fatigue is on it. Wont have the folfox with so no 46hr pump to go home with also. Will be doing this every 2 weeks for 3 months then back to MD Anderson for more scans (they are giving the orders) and to see if this is working. Just wondering what side effects to expect & hope it works.

Comments

  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    #2
    It did wonders on me last 2 years.
    Symptoms are the ones you described in many cases despite in my case just mild diarrhea and no nausea at all beside the moment of infusion easy to control with a shot of atropine, ask for it, no extreme fatigue, capable to do normal life , the most uncomfortable sympthom to me was a permanent feeling of stomach bloated that was all for me . Must be watching any bleeding in stools ,Avastin may cause it if so go immediately to Doc. beside that quite manageable combo.
    Hope it helped, good luck my friend , hope you continue fishing despite chemo!
  • geotina
    geotina Member Posts: 2,111 Member
    #3
    Hi Kenny:
    My hubby George has been on this combo for quite some time, more than a year. He hates it. His diarrhea was really bad. Yep, lost all body hair. No nausea but extreme fatigue at times. Now that is the bad news. Now for the good news, it has worked very, very well for him. Latest CEA is 14.1, lowest since diagnosis in 3/09. I think it is so hard on him because he gets it every week, 3 weeks on, 1 week off so there really is no recoup time for him, he feels better than bam, time for chemo again. He functions very well with this drug combo but really is not able to do too much around the house. Thats ok by me, as long as it keeps the cancer at bay.

    Take care and hang in there and hopefully your side effects are not too bad.

    Tina
  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    #4
    geotina said:

    Hi Kenny:
    My hubby George has been on this combo for quite some time, more than a year. He hates it. His diarrhea was really bad. Yep, lost all body hair. No nausea but extreme fatigue at times. Now that is the bad news. Now for the good news, it has worked very, very well for him. Latest CEA is 14.1, lowest since diagnosis in 3/09. I think it is so hard on him because he gets it every week, 3 weeks on, 1 week off so there really is no recoup time for him, he feels better than bam, time for chemo again. He functions very well with this drug combo but really is not able to do too much around the house. Thats ok by me, as long as it keeps the cancer at bay.

    Take care and hang in there and hopefully your side effects are not too bad.

    Tina

    Many of the stomach issues are due to the 5FU ( fluoracil)
    I see you are not carrying the pump so not fluoracil, it makes the thing easier with stomach.
    Hugs.
  • Kenny H.
    Kenny H. Member Posts: 502 Member
    #5
    pepebcn said:

    Many of the stomach issues are due to the 5FU ( fluoracil)
    I see you are not carrying the pump so not fluoracil, it makes the thing easier with stomach.
    Hugs.

    Thanks for the info,
    having
    Thanks for the info,
    having a colostomy may be a little easier to deal with the diarreah, at least one advantage of being a bagger! The fatigue part was main concern but have been given leave off work so can give it my all for at least 6 months....Sounds like I'll be getting some fishing time in just gotta protect myself good to sun exposure.
  • steveandnat
    steveandnat Member Posts: 886
    #6
    Being fatigued
    I remember being tired all the time. I also got neuophany real bad from Avastin. I am also on the every two weeks which stinks because you never really get fully recovered before you start treatment again. Pray everything works well for you.
    Jeff
  • janderson1964
    janderson1964 Member Posts: 2,215 Member
    #7
    I did that cocktail back in
    I did that cocktail back in 08. No hair loss. A little diarrhea and some vomiting. I just started Irinotecan again with 5FU and no Avastin. This time I had severe diarrhea for 3 days after infusion but no vomiting or hair loss. Will add Panatubamab on third infusion. I am surprised they are not having you do the 46hr 5FU pump.
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    #8
    Sun Alert
    Hey Kenny

    Watch the sun, brother...you will burn alot easier with the 5fu...I wore a straw hat one day and the rays burnt my scalp to a crisp...and I used sun-screen but my face would turn the color of a tomato...red, red, red.

    I know it will be hard to keep a good fisherman down - but you know how the water magnifies the intensity of the sun's rays...just be careful...you might need to expose yourself to shorter times than you are used to.

    5fu really makes the skin sensitive and suspectible to the sun...

    The combo is harsh and effective - was hard on me...but successful to date...hope it all goes well for you.

    -Craig

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