RE: Chemotherapy

[Guest guest]

Don, there are several anit-nausea drugs your Oncologist can and should have prescribed.

Have you contacted the Oncologist nurse or the doc about this?

 

I want to thank all of you for your help in the past.  I am stage 4 Prostate Cancer.  Back on about 10/23/09 my oncologist said I would have to go on Taxotere Chomotherapy.  She gave me a choice:  1) Infusion of chemo every 3 weeks which will go on indefinetely.  I was told there was a 40% chance of success.  I was led to believe the reaction to the chemo would not be too severe.  So I had the chemo on 11/6/09; 12/1/09; and the third and last on 12/24/09, that was 12 days ago.  The reaction to the last chemo made me sicker than any time in my life.  I have been suffering for 12 days.  I am completery fatigued.  I have to lay down to rest frequently.  It is hard for me getting up from a chair.  I have a dry, hacking cough, sometimes I get a coughing fit, sometimes I can bring up some phlegm.  Does anyone have any knowledge of a good over the counter cough medicine?  I don't ever want to go thru this again.  Especially every 3 weeks.  Life is not worth living, and I prefer death.  I am 90% positive I will refuse any further taxotere chemo.

 The second choice the Oncologist gave me was pill therapy.  She said there was only a 20% chance of success with that.  I will ask her about going on that treatment.  What would be the reaction?  Presumeably it would not make me as sick as Taxotere.  I'll have to find out.

 The third issue I want to address is that if I stop all treatments and just go on a program that will keep me comfortable and out of pain what kind of treatments; pills; etc would I be on.  I would need a doctor to keep me comfortable, out of pain.  I've heard of legalized Marijuana therapy. 

 I don't want to suffer any more.  I just want to die in peace. Yours truly, Don Calandrillo

Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. Get it now.

-- Emersonwww.flhw.org

[Guest guest]

Consider trying Taxotere at a lower dose on a

weekly basis rather than every three weeks. Lower weekly dosages often have less side effects and are effective.  There is also some evidence that slower infusions (more than one hour) also reduces side effects. (Chuck)

Maack has put together some papers on this subject, the following comes from him,

 

" Here are a few

papers on the subject:

 

From: http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/cgi/content/full/9/5/538

“Weekly dosing of docetaxel has been investigated in an

effort to reduce toxicity and has been identified as a safe and

effective regimen in clinical trials. Weekly docetaxel is generally

administered at doses ranging from 30–40 mg/m2/week

for 6 of 8 weeks or for 3 of 4 weeks. With weekly dosing, though

efficacy is comparable, myelosuppression is substantially less, and

the overall tolerability profile is better than with every-3-week

dosing. Fatigue is a common toxicity associated with weekly docetaxel;

other adverse effects that are seen in a minority of patients

include hyperlacrimation, nail toxicity, and alopecia. These side

effects are dose related and can generally be managed through dose

reductions or alterations in the weekly schedule. Because of the

favorable tolerability profile, weekly docetaxel is under

investigation in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents and

with novel targeted agents in a variety of tumor types. The results

of these ongoing studies will further define the place of weekly

docetaxel in cancer therapy.”

 

From: http://tinyurl.com/yj9w7d9

“Conclusions: Weekly low-dose docetaxel is an effective and well-tolerated treatment

for patients with hormone-resistant prostate cancer previously exposed to

chemotherapy.”

 

From: http://tinyurl.com/2p4bkx

“Fatigue affects

about 50% of patients receiving Taxotere. Patients on the q3wk regimen usually

report moderate to severe fatigue lasting about a week after each infusion.

They usually recover to normal energy levels in time for the next treatment.

Patients on the q1wk schedule usually experience a milder degree of fatigue,

but of longer duration.”Do you know what the " pill " therapy is?

You might want to join the advanced prostate cancer listserv.  You can join by going to:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/advancedprostatecancer/join

 

I want to thank all of you for your help in the past.  I am stage 4 Prostate Cancer.  Back on about 10/23/09 my oncologist said I would have to go on Taxotere Chomotherapy.  She gave me a choice:  1) Infusion of chemo every 3 weeks which will go on indefinetely.  I was told there was a 40% chance of success.  I was led to believe the reaction to the chemo would not be too severe.  So I had the chemo on 11/6/09; 12/1/09; and the third and last on 12/24/09, that was 12 days ago.  The reaction to the last chemo made me sicker than any time in my life.  I have been suffering for 12 days.  I am completery fatigued.  I have to lay down to rest frequently.  It is hard for me getting up from a chair.  I have a dry, hacking cough, sometimes I get a coughing fit, sometimes I can bring up some phlegm.  Does anyone have any knowledge of a good over the counter cough medicine?  I don't ever want to go thru this again.  Especially every 3 weeks.  Life is not worth living, and I prefer death.  I am 90% positive I will refuse any further taxotere chemo.

 The second choice the Oncologist gave me was pill therapy.  She said there was only a 20% chance of success with that.  I will ask her about going on that treatment.  What would be the reaction?  Presumeably it would not make me as sick as Taxotere.  I'll have to find out.

 The third issue I want to address is that if I stop all treatments and just go on a program that will keep me comfortable and out of pain what kind of treatments; pills; etc would I be on.  I would need a doctor to keep me comfortable, out of pain.  I've heard of legalized Marijuana therapy. 

 I don't want to suffer any more.  I just want to die in peace. Yours truly, Don Calandrillo

Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. Get it now.

-- T Nowak MA, MSWDirector for Advocacy and  Advanced Prostate Cancer Programs, Malecare Inc. Men Fighting Cancer TogetherSurvivor - Thyroid, Recurrent Prostate and Renal Cancers

www.advancedprostatecancer.net - A blog about advanced and recurrent prostate cancerwww.malecare.com - information and support about prostate cancer

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/advancedprostatecancer/ - an online support group for men and their families diagnosed with advanced and recurrent prostate cancer

[Guest guest]

THANKS FOR THE REPLY DAVID. MY PROBLEM IS EXTREME FATIGUE AND A HACKING COUGH. I AM NOT NAUSEOUS. YOURS TRULY, DON CALANDRILLO

To: ProstateCancerSupport From: davidemerson@...Date: Tue, 5 Jan 2010 12:04:25 -0600Subject: Re: Chemotherapy

Don, there are several anit-nausea drugs your Oncologist can and should have prescribed.

Have you contacted the Oncologist nurse or the doc about this?

On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 8:58 AM, Calandrillo <dcalandrillohotmail> wrote:

I want to thank all of you for your help in the past. I am stage 4 Prostate Cancer. Back on about 10/23/09 my oncologist said I would have to go on Taxotere Chomotherapy. She gave me a choice: 1) Infusion of chemo every 3 weeks which will go on indefinetely. I was told there was a 40% chance of success. I was led to believe the reaction to the chemo would not be too severe. So I had the chemo on 11/6/09; 12/1/09; and the third and last on 12/24/09, that was 12 days ago. The reaction to the last chemo made me sicker than any time in my life. I have been suffering for 12 days. I am completery fatigued. I have to lay down to rest frequently. It is hard for me getting up from a chair. I have a dry, hacking cough, sometimes I get a coughing fit, sometimes I can bring up some phlegm. Does anyone have any knowledge of a good over the counter cough medicine? I don't ever want to go thru this again. Especially every 3 weeks. Life is not worth living, and I prefer death. I am 90% positive I will refuse any further taxotere chemo. The second choice the Oncologist gave me was pill therapy. She said there was only a 20% chance of success with that. I will ask her about going on that treatment. What would be the reaction? Presumeably it would not make me as sick as Taxotere. I'll have to find out. The third issue I want to address is that if I stop all treatments and just go on a program that will keep me comfortable and out of pain what kind of treatments; pills; etc would I be on. I would need a doctor to keep me comfortable, out of pain. I've heard of legalized Marijuana therapy. I don't want to suffer any more. I just want to die in peace. Yours truly, Don Calandrillo

Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. Get it now.

-- Emersonwww.flhw.org

Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. Get it now.