treatment stopped due to lung node growths

[pondering]

my friend just had to stop treatment after four weeks due to nodes growing on her lungs - has anyone had this happen or heard of this happening?  (they weren't there before treatment)  nodules is the term the doctors used.  she sees a hepatologist in paris and her treatment was not a trial.  this was her first attempt at treatment.  any insights?

[Deb_c430]

riba and inteferon can cause or worsen pulmonary problems,  This is from the peg site.
I do hope she can continue.




What are the possible side effects?

The most common side effects of PEGASYS and COPEGUS are:

Flu-like symptoms (including fever, chills, muscle aches, joint pain, headaches)
Tiredness
Upset stomach (like nausea, taste changes, diarrhea)
Blood sugar problems (may lead to diabetes)
Redness and swelling at injection site
Skin problems (like rash, dry or itchy skin)
Hair loss (temporary)
Trouble sleeping
The most serious side effects of PEGASYS and COPEGUS are:

Risks to pregnancies
Mental health problems (such as irritability, depression, anxiety, aggressiveness, trouble with drug addiction or overdose, thoughts about suicide, suicide attempts, suicide, thoughts about homicide, and hallucinations)
Blood problems (like a drop in blood cells leading to increased risk for infections, bleeding and/or heart or circulatory problems)
Infections (which sometimes cause death)
Lung problems (like trouble breathing, pneumonia)
Eye problems (like blurred vision, loss of vision)
Autoimmune problems (such as psoriasis, thyroid problems)
Heart problems (including chest pain and, rarely, a heart attack)
Rash with fever or blisters
Liver problems (rarely, liver function worsens). Patients with both the hepatitis C virus and HIV can have an increased chance of having liver failure during PEGASYS treatment. Change in a blood test that measures liver inflammation occurs more often in patients with hepatitis B. If you have a rise in this blood test you may need to be watched more closely with additional blood tests.

[pondering]

yes, thanks for responding.   and reminding me to look at the Whole picture.

"What I do believe happens here is that some people grab on to a concept and refuse to let go of it or even consider something else."

i think i probably do that too :)

[JennyPenny]

I hope your friend gets better soon. I understand what you are saying about concerns after treatment are sometimes dismissed. I believe there has to be a balance here. Of course some people may experience afer effects, but on the other hand, it is important not to dismiss everything as caused by interferon. The patient just may miss something important if interferon or HCV is blamed for everything. I do not agree that the posters here tend to blame other things and dismiss the after effects of treatment. What I do believe happens here is that some people grab on to a comcept and refuse to let go of it or even consider something else. That is why having a doctor you trust is important. No one here is a physician and the most they can do is share their own experiences.

[pondering]

her doctor is a hepatologist specialising in hcv and part of a large team at a liver hospital in paris.  she had an extensive physical exam before starting treatment - including lung xrays and a ct scan which were clear one week before treatment.  the doctors indicate that the lung fibroids are a result of the interferon - they say they have seen it happen before.  

since i posted this i have had a look around and now see that fibrosis of the lungs or sarcoidosis is a recognised side-effect of interferon treatment for hcv - although not common.  it's well documented.  (see google:  hcv interferon lung sarcoidosis - etc)  we're just waiting to hear what they can do about it.

i wasn't very clear on my first post - this was an Emergency situation - she went into respiratory failure and had to be rushed to the hospital.  i'm sure they are testing for levels in her blood and whether there was any response virally to the treatment - but i don't think that's the most urgent matter for her right now.  

since i was diagnosed with hcv i have been following this forum as well as a couple of my friends who received treatment.  one of them, 1a, went through a trial here and was non-responsive.  she just finished another regular treatment, had a relatively difficult time - but not as bad as some people's experiences i read here - and achieved svr.  

one thing i've noticed on this forum is that when someone comes with concerns about after-treatment long term after-effects of the treatment itself - these are sometimes dismissed as being "something else" or "unrelated" as a matter of course.  systematically.  even when it's documented in medical literature.  

the truth about interferon, or my truth - from what i have observed with my friends - is that there are sometimes horrendous implications to treatment.  there Can be long term effects of the treatment itself that impact your health even if svr is reached.   and also that treatment Can work.  

it's complicated.  but mostly i'm worried about my friend.

[jmjm530]

JP makes good points. Tell your friend to get a second opinion from the best HCV specialist she can find. But regardless, make sure she gets a sensitive blood test right away if she has stopped the drugs. This will tell her how well she has responded so far and can be extremely useful information in planning any future treatments.

[JennyPenny]

Take a look at this:

http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/030519/19diagnosis_2.htm

[JennyPenny]

How do they know they weren't there before treatment. There are so many people with tiny nodules in the lung and the vast majority are benign. CT scans pick them up at about 5mm, way before an xray can see them. As long as they don't grow they leave them alone. Much more information is needed as to how big they are, etc. Why does the hep doc think they are related to treatment?