chemo for stage 4 advice lungs liver and bones

Hopefully your doctor will take this into consideration and maybe change your meds. Its not called the RED DEVIL for nothing.

adriamycin for stage 4 seems pretty heavy handed. Iwould also talk to the dr and maybe get a second opinion.

very strange! rodeogirl! first of all i am feeling really sorry for you having these issues; secondly, i am truly surprised at your onco choice of Red Devil as it is usually used as first line chemo for early stage BC (correct me if im wrong). i am in the same boat with liver/lungs/bones involvement. but my onco started with carboplatin and taxol with zometa. i had a 2 years remission on taxol and carboplatin is said to have good results for TNBC cases ( im TNBC). I have seen many women complaining of mouth sores, ulcers and vomiting on Adriamycin. i had HORRIBLE experience on it first time around. what worked wonders for me was Decadron. i got this injection (IM) on third day after chemo and spent rest of my time at ease with absolutely no nausea, vomiting or any other issue. don't forget to drink a lot of fluids and get a prescription of mouthwash from your onco.

Adriamycin is a hard drug, but your symptoms are way beyond what is acceptable in my opinion. I would absolutely consider a different treatment since there are many, many chemos that are effective and less toxic. Weekly Abraxane or taxol come to mind immediately, but lots of other choices like Xeloda, Gemzar, Navelbine, and Halaven are all examples of chemos that tend to be easier in terms of side effects compared to Adriamycin.

Hormone therapies are also very powerful, but they do take longer to get going, so it is often best to make progress with chemo first, say for example do chemo for 6 - 8 months, then switch to a hormone drug like Femara to hold the ground you gain.

Since you might be especially sensitive to nausea, ask about getting Aloxi and Emend (along with decadron or whatever else) for pre-meds. The Aloxi and Emend work great for nausea and last continuously for about days rather than you having to bother with taking zofran at home every 8 hours. They do cause constipation, so make sure you are taking something for that. There is no reason in my mind for someone basically starting out on chemo to have such terrible, uncontrolled nausea. I'm so sorry you are suffering like that.

Also, I'm confused why your onc would say 6 - 9 months, does she mean that's how long if you don't have treatment? I mean, yes liver mets are serious, but even with multiple liver mets, you should expect to have a reasonable chance of living years with proper treatment. Might be time to look for a different oncologist?

To the question about marajuana, there's no credible research that it cures cancer, but some people say it helps with side effects from treatment.

Final thought - you might try gentle salt water rinses for the sores in your mouth. I've had great luck with them, especially if I rinse 5 - 6 times throughout the day. If that doesn't work, there's a "magic mouthwash" that you can get with prescription (or mix at home) which contains oral lidocaine, Maalox, and liquid benedryl. It coats the sores and the lidocaine helps with pain relief. Take care and again, I am so sorry you have had such a terrible time.

hi rodeogirl!

that injection must be Zometa right? I am getting that with chemo for bones. zometa is used for strengthening bones because bone mets could cause fractures and weakening of bones. I had worst bone pain from zometa first time around but I have heard that it usually gets better with time. and YES it could cause necrosis of jaw but that is the case with long term use like years...hope you are feeling better now.

Mary

I don't want to add to yours or anyone elses worries or to stress you even more. But my 62yr old mother, last year, had removal surgery for breast cancer, then went through chemo and radiation over the past year. She has been to doctor's every week since these were done. The surgery, supposedly got all the cancer, but chemo/radiation were all a follow up, "just in case treatments to be sure." They been saying she still had no signs of cancer. Until just over a month ago she was having so much pain in her joints. They kept saying it was all just after effects of treatments.and kept just giving hydros. Finally on 3-9, which was 1 day following her 62nd birthday, it got bad enough that they ordered a bone scan. Bone cancer. 2 days following, we had to take her to hospital for 2 days. Looked like pneumonia. When she went back yesterday, she now has spots on lungs and liver as well. A week ago she was up walking/moving around, now hurts to even open her eyelids, can't walk or really move. In past 4 days she went from being 62 to looking 82. So please bring it up to your doctor's. It is probably not the same as what is happening to you. I pray for you and hope it is. I just want you to be safe and catch anything before it gets worse. I don't know how she was in such observation, and this developed after her treatments. Instantly out of nowhere.

Mom died that night. Complications of anesthesia, but no reason to what or why she died.

Yes Korky, that must be so shocking and difficult. Prayers for you and your Mom....

exbrnxgrl! I have a question for you. you have bone mets I can see from your diagnosis. my onco had put me on zometa every 6 weeks instead of for. I had my first infusion with my first chemo and after a few days of intense bone I was feeling fine. but, now after second chemo (without zometa) I have intense pain in left side and left hip. it started right after my chemo infusion. and now after 13 days, it is still there not consistent but come and go. is it bone mets hurting because chemo is not working? what was your experience with bone mets?

love to all

Hi MaryK,
Our situations are very different. I have never had chemo. Since I am ER+ I have been NED for almost 5 years on AI's alone. I did have two years of Aredia, a bone strengthener like Zometa is (but it's an older drug). It never caused me any problems, other than flu like symptoms after the first infusion. My bone met never caused me pain either, however, it was treated with radiation with intent to render it necrotic (It worked). I have heard of pain caused by tumor flare during tx. Have you checked out the bone mets thread? The women there have a very wide range of experiences and may have situations similar to yours. Sorry that I couldn't be of more help. Take care.

Question for Everyone: Wouldn't it be logical for Rodeogirl to start a hormonal treatment now. I'm wondering why it's usually started after chemo. Seems to me that if there is a chance of benefit she should be on it?

Just FYI - I'm on the Xgeva shot monthly. I have absolute no side effects from it and it has really helped to strengthen my spine.

Rodeogirl wishing you a good day today