Chemo in 2 weeks

[EyesWideShut]

Ok, some good news. Evan is coming home tomorrow his implant infection has cleared up :) We also met with the Oncologist today, he said Evan will be starting chemo on January 1st. He is also going for a CT scan of his lungs and getting tumor markers done.
I have a few questions:

-Isn't two weeks too long to wait? Can't the cancer spread more?

-The dr. also mentioned lung damage and nerve damage with BEP, has anyone had this?

-Has anyone had a bad cold or infection while reciving chemo?


The Dr. said that Evan can to 3XBEP or just do EP for longer. What is your advice on this?

Thanks!

[boyce]

I waited a ew weeks post orchiectmy for chemo as well. I don't think it's unusual.

I did 4x BEP and know Bleo well. Personally, I hated it, but it seemed to help.

The Bleo is nasty in that it caused a chemical fever and some long term lung damage. However, since my athletic days are past, the decreased lung function (lost about 10%) will not be very noticable.

I also had some nerve damage from Bleo, but it was pretty minor (tingling, etc.) Ater chemo, everything went back to normal on that stuff, though.

My choice woud be to take the most aggressive treatment possible, but please listen to your docs and make the nest choice for you all, OK?

I am happy to share any other info that you like. Get ready for a wild ride, but know that you can get through it and get better!!

[dadmo]

His start date for chemo seems fine. Both 3xBEP and 4xEP will work on tc, my preference is EP because of the lung damage issue. On the down side the extra cycle of EP can cause more nerve damage. You should discuss this with your oncologist to determine which is more appropriate for your husband. IU tends to go with BEP and Sloan usually chooses EP.

[Moriarty]

The schedule I'm following from my oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston is 3xBEP. I'm finishing off the first round of treatment and should be done by the end of January.

They told me about those same potential side effects and thus far I've yet to experience them. I just have the hair loss (which started with some of my beard last night and has spread to the back of my head in the shower this morning), nausea and general tiredness as my side effects. And the low white blood cell count. Thus far, no problem with the finger tingling or nerve problems. *knock on wood*

While some of the side effects sound scary and may loom large in your mind, the way I looked at it was that if I was to hit the worst case scenario jackpot and end up with all of them, it still beats the alternative of what the cancer will do otherwise.

As for the waiting time, I had my orchiectomy on Nov. 1 and had my first chemo on Nov. 27. It was explained that they need to wait a few weeks after the surgery to make sure you're healed up pretty good and ready to fight the cancer with chemo.

The best piece of advice I could give as far as calming your fears or answering your doubts is trust the doctors but verify with them. If you have any doubts or worries whatsoever, tell them and let them answer you. If their answer doesn't satisfy you, tell them so. Don't worry about whether or not they get frustrated with you. You're the patient/patient's loved one ... they understand.

[Fish]

I'm glad to hear the infection has cleared up - one thing out of the way. Getting the chemo scheduled is great also. As the others said the start date sounds fine.

I hope you can both relax a bit, I know it will be tough, but try to give yourselves a break.

Best wishes.

[EyesWideShut]

Thank you everyone for answering! It would be almost 2 months since his operation before he starts chemo. I still think this is too long! But I guess we will have a normal Christmas, thank goodness for our daughters sake!

Boyce- I want him to take the stronger of the 2, but we worry that he will not be able to attend school. I know he wont be able to go everyday and I know "you don't have anything without your health" but maybe we should take the EP?

dadmo-Did you do EP? If you did what type of cancer were you treating?

Moriarty-sorry to hear you got such a bad reaction to the BEP. Did the doctors give you a choice between BEP & EP?

Thanks Fish! We plan to have a fun-filled family Christmas!!

[Margaret]

Thank you everyone for answering! It would be almost 2 months since his operation before he starts chemo. I still think this is too long! But I guess we will have a normal Christmas, thank goodness for our daughters sake!

Boyce- I want him to take the stronger of the 2, but we worry that he will not be able to attend school. I know he wont be able to go everyday and I know "you don't have anything without your health" but maybe we should take the EP?

dadmo-Did you do EP? If you did what type of cancer were you treating?

Moriarty-sorry to hear you got such a bad reaction to the BEP. Did the doctors give you a choice between BEP & EP?

Thanks Fish! We plan to have a fun-filled family Christmas!!

From everything we have read and told by our doctors (Boyce and I) the treatment with the added Bleo, is a greater chance for a cure. I know that Lance Armstrong decided not to take the Bleo because he did not want to risk lung damage...but given a choice I would always want my husband, son, brother...to take the path that offers the best hope for a cure. Bleo was not kind to my husband, it caused some side effects that were not comfortable for him, but he is well now and that is a wonderful thing.

I know there are many articles on line about this, I will try and find some to help.

Hugs,

M.

[petep]

Good afternoon -

here is the great news - either 3xBEP or 4xEP - will treat TC very well....when the 2 leaders in the world IU and sloan...use each with differing preferences, you know there is less science and more art/preference in the decision making...

the science - that is the data - suggests either yields an exceptionally high cure rate.

I had 3xBEP - I run, swim...no problems and I am 18 months+ post chemo...but I don't scuba dive - if I was serious about that I may have chosen EP....and there are cases where people have bleo problems...very few...but they are there...as there are some that have issues with the extra round of EP...but very few...

always pros and cons...I suppose my message is take your docs advice and don't worry you made a wrong choice...plenty here that have had both and are fine...

as far as side effects - here is a thread to help out a bit...

http://www.tc-cancer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3699&highlight=3xbep%3A+experiences

best wishes -

pete

[EyesWideShut]

Thank you Margaret, I think we are leaning more towards BEP. I think the only reason he would do EP, is so he doesn't fall to far behind in school.

Petep, thank you for sharing the link where you listed yours and other people's side effects to BEP. I printed this off and my husband found it very useful and comforting. He has a better understanding of what to expect!
I always tend to take the dr. 's advice, but he made it difficult when he gave us the option of BEP or EP! I hate decision making!!

[petep]

don't hesitate to email me (pete4974@bellsouth.net) , or send a PM...I can get you my phone number - I'm happy to answer any more questions related to my experience & thoughts.

pete

[Michelle]

Hi,

Paul had 3xBEP, and he did well, only very tired the first 2 rounds and the third he had nausea for about a week, but no nerve damage or lung damage(knock on wood). Our whole family eneded up with the sniffles during his second round but Paul did fine and no high fever.

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and I know you will savoir every moment.

Michelle