Avastin and Gemzar

[Jatoo]

Dear Friends:

Greetings for the New Year. I wonder if anybody has been on Gemzar and Avastin. I have studied its side effects but would like to know first hand if anybody has been on it to compare notes. If there is nobody, at least please post re Gemzar.

Melody was finally approved for Avastin in combination for free. Her GynOnc who is the chief GynOnc of that hospital recommended it. And it's not on a clinical trial. Other ladies on Avastin had astonomical bills since their insurance won't cover it. She could either use Topotecan or Gemzar with Avastin. We chose Gemzar since her tumor have never seen it. She had her first treatment last Thursday so we do not know whether it's working. I will update you on this.

Gemzar is an antimetabolite and binds/attacks the tumor cells to prevent it from dividing. Avastin of course being an antiangionesis drug stops the food supply of the tumor. It looks like more and more options are coming out for OvCA. Phenoxodiol is another interesting drug.

Melody's side effect is pain in the Tumor site ( a good sign that the drugs are working?). Did anyone have pain while on Gemzar?

Thank you for any response.

Jatoo

[Mobydick]

Hi, Vi's last drug was Gemzar, she had alone, on a 21 day cycle, day 1, repeat day 8, then start agin day 21. Vi found it hard as she suffered badly with nausia, just started to feel ok, then had to go back in to make her sick again. But in all it made her CA drop from 500+ to normal 34 infact, but never really stable, up and down like a yo-yo.

[unmai]

Jatoo,

Mom had gemzar before switching over to doxil.  Gemzar unfortunately did not do a thing for her.  It made her feel sick (very sick) to be honest.  She did not have avastin.  She had weekly gemzar infussions.  3 on and 1 off.  After 4 infusions, her ca125 kept going up.  The doc stopped it.  Here are the side effects that she had:
EXTREME fatigue
Anxiety attacks (that were bad - she has never had them before)
Pain/nausea.

I hope that your wife does well on it.  Please keep an eye on the ca125 level every time you get a chance (even if they say it is too soon to check!).  Your family continues to be in my prayers.  Please let us know how she does with it.

Hoping and praying that her ca125 tumbles down very soon.
Unmai

[greenark]

Hi!  My Mom has just finished a 3-week course of Gemzar.  Before this, she had had Doxcil and it reduced the tumour that they saw at that time and it did not show up on the CAT Scan they did just before Thanksgiving.  However, her CA-125 has gone back up - but she has some stomach problems and eating problems.  She had been receiving too much doxcil for her size and it was too hard for her body, but the side effects were nill except for nausea.  There was some nausea from the Gemzar for a day or two and tiredness, but I'm not sure how much effect it had on her "blockages" in her small intestines as they still show up on X-ray and her CA-125 is still over 1300.  Hope this can help a little.

[Jatoo]

Thanks to all your posts. It's great to always here from you. May you all be well.

Jatoo

[Helmar]

Happy New Year to you and Melody too...and I hope she is feeling really well.
Re the Gemzar... I had it with Carboplatin, and although it did reduce my CA.125 slightly, it didn't do a lot. It's the only chemo that played havoch with my blood. It was really bad in that the platelets and red cells went way down, to the point I had to have infusions for both. I was on my way to another city, when my cell phone rang. It was my Oncol. telling me to turn the car around, and get straight back to the Oncol. unit for transfusions, as he said I could have haemorraged, as my platelets were in a bad way. Of course we are all different, and I've heard other ladies over here, who have done extemely well with Gemzar. I know a lady who had Avastin/Cytoxan combination, so I can ask her how it went, it you would like me to. I guess we are all individuals, and what works for one, may not work for another, but I hope and pray that this one will do a good job for Melody.
Best wishes and all the best to you both.....Helmar...