Re: Many Don't Get Full Dose of Chemo

[Guest guest]

Ed- Thank you for the article- it was a question I have been

wondering about especially having had to take a break for a surgical

procedure.

Kris

> Study initiated by breast cancer is being extended to determine

> whether inadvertant " chemo-lite " is common with other cancers too-

and

> how much the dose can dip before patients' chances of survival are

> harmed.

> See: http://tinyurl.com/ysr5m

[Guest guest]

Saw report of same today in Miami Herald. Also that breast cancer in men is

twice

as common in the last three years than had previously been thought. Still

since

2000 things have improved. I have a sister diagnosed 7 years ago in August

and

she has been through sore serious problems but is still valiently fighting

and is

always urging my husband to stay positive and think ahead(colon cancer with

mets

everywhere diag 5/99) There seems to be some controversy but individuals

respond

in different ways. Still like B. said when telly us her dad died on 5/20

miracles

do happen and sometimes you just have to let go. Nick & Jane

[Guest guest]

Don't feel all that bad. Many things go into an oncs. decision. Weight

loss,blood

counts,depression,general state of mind. Certainly side effects play a large

part.

A lapse of two or three days should not provoke a bad response. Continued

lapses might make a very different impression. Initially Nick had a Push.5

days..cut to

4 and discontinued three weeks when he lost a tremendous amt of wgt. Picked

up

again and he was better. Then he completed the six months. He was on oxy and

avastin and had such bad reactions they stopped. Now is Xeloda and they

stooped when he had mouth sores and excess vomitting. But he has tolerated this

better

than the other five regimens. I think it depends on the circumstances with

each

individual. just a thought. Nick and Jane

[Guest guest]

Don't feel all that bad. Many things go into an oncs. decision. Weight

loss,blood

counts,depression,general state of mind. Certainly side effects play a large

part.

A lapse of two or three days should not provoke a bad response. Continued

lapses might make a very different impression. Initially Nick had a Push.5

days..cut to

4 and discontinued three weeks when he lost a tremendous amt of wgt. Picked

up

again and he was better. Then he completed the six months. He was on oxy and

avastin and had such bad reactions they stopped. Now is Xeloda and they

stooped when he had mouth sores and excess vomitting. But he has tolerated this

better

than the other five regimens. I think it depends on the circumstances with

each

individual. just a thought. Nick and Jane

[Guest guest]

Don't feel all that bad. Many things go into an oncs. decision. Weight

loss,blood

counts,depression,general state of mind. Certainly side effects play a large

part.

A lapse of two or three days should not provoke a bad response. Continued

lapses might make a very different impression. Initially Nick had a Push.5

days..cut to

4 and discontinued three weeks when he lost a tremendous amt of wgt. Picked

up

again and he was better. Then he completed the six months. He was on oxy and

avastin and had such bad reactions they stopped. Now is Xeloda and they

stooped when he had mouth sores and excess vomitting. But he has tolerated this

better

than the other five regimens. I think it depends on the circumstances with

each

individual. just a thought. Nick and Jane

[Guest guest]

All,

The article is interesting, but at the same time I think only

marginally applicable to our population. As upbeat as I am (still

am, too), in reality chemotherapy for colorectal cancer as a whole,

is very rarely curative, which is not the case for the breast cancer

cited in the article (implies well over 30% versus as little as 5%

for stage IV cr cancer) - in our case, it is either used to extend

or improve life or as a preventative measure after tumor removal.

That being the case, I think that reducing dosage to improve quality

of life is probably appropriate in most cases.

My onc told me, which I have to take at face value, that there

is no study data to indicate that dosage reduction and infrequent

breaks in treatment substantially affect outcome in the case of

colorectal cancer - I asked when he dose reduced me (he also said

that he would likely start slowly increasing the dose again anyway

after some effects had gone away). Common sense wise, this makes

sense, especially reflecting on another thing he told me when I

first got cancer - that antineoplastic drugs are dosed in what can

be viewed as kind of high to begin with - generally, they don't

increase doses until toxic effects are seen; rather, they dose

intially at levels that the majority people in a study group

tolerated without significant toxicity and reduce to lessen

toxicity - i.e. many people in the dosage study group did have

toxicity that was not consistent with continued dosage at the level

that induced such effects. To put it another way, the intial dosage

received by most is, in fact, toxic to many people to begin with.

Joe

> Study initiated by breast cancer is being extended to determine

> whether inadvertant " chemo-lite " is common with other cancers too-

and

> how much the dose can dip before patients' chances of survival are

> harmed.

> See: http://tinyurl.com/ysr5m

[Guest guest]

All,

The article is interesting, but at the same time I think only

marginally applicable to our population. As upbeat as I am (still

am, too), in reality chemotherapy for colorectal cancer as a whole,

is very rarely curative, which is not the case for the breast cancer

cited in the article (implies well over 30% versus as little as 5%

for stage IV cr cancer) - in our case, it is either used to extend

or improve life or as a preventative measure after tumor removal.

That being the case, I think that reducing dosage to improve quality

of life is probably appropriate in most cases.

My onc told me, which I have to take at face value, that there

is no study data to indicate that dosage reduction and infrequent

breaks in treatment substantially affect outcome in the case of

colorectal cancer - I asked when he dose reduced me (he also said

that he would likely start slowly increasing the dose again anyway

after some effects had gone away). Common sense wise, this makes

sense, especially reflecting on another thing he told me when I

first got cancer - that antineoplastic drugs are dosed in what can

be viewed as kind of high to begin with - generally, they don't

increase doses until toxic effects are seen; rather, they dose

intially at levels that the majority people in a study group

tolerated without significant toxicity and reduce to lessen

toxicity - i.e. many people in the dosage study group did have

toxicity that was not consistent with continued dosage at the level

that induced such effects. To put it another way, the intial dosage

received by most is, in fact, toxic to many people to begin with.

Joe

> Study initiated by breast cancer is being extended to determine

> whether inadvertant " chemo-lite " is common with other cancers too-

and

> how much the dose can dip before patients' chances of survival are

> harmed.

> See: http://tinyurl.com/ysr5m

[Guest guest]

All,

The article is interesting, but at the same time I think only

marginally applicable to our population. As upbeat as I am (still

am, too), in reality chemotherapy for colorectal cancer as a whole,

is very rarely curative, which is not the case for the breast cancer

cited in the article (implies well over 30% versus as little as 5%

for stage IV cr cancer) - in our case, it is either used to extend

or improve life or as a preventative measure after tumor removal.

That being the case, I think that reducing dosage to improve quality

of life is probably appropriate in most cases.

My onc told me, which I have to take at face value, that there

is no study data to indicate that dosage reduction and infrequent

breaks in treatment substantially affect outcome in the case of

colorectal cancer - I asked when he dose reduced me (he also said

that he would likely start slowly increasing the dose again anyway

after some effects had gone away). Common sense wise, this makes

sense, especially reflecting on another thing he told me when I

first got cancer - that antineoplastic drugs are dosed in what can

be viewed as kind of high to begin with - generally, they don't

increase doses until toxic effects are seen; rather, they dose

intially at levels that the majority people in a study group

tolerated without significant toxicity and reduce to lessen

toxicity - i.e. many people in the dosage study group did have

toxicity that was not consistent with continued dosage at the level

that induced such effects. To put it another way, the intial dosage

received by most is, in fact, toxic to many people to begin with.

Joe

> Study initiated by breast cancer is being extended to determine

> whether inadvertant " chemo-lite " is common with other cancers too-

and

> how much the dose can dip before patients' chances of survival are

> harmed.

> See: http://tinyurl.com/ysr5m

[Guest guest]

Nick, Jane, Joe- I agree with you all. It is an interesting article

and I have wondered about how breaks or decreases in dose might

affect response, but as you say this is based on breast cancer- which

is treated with different drugs, and has a far greater incidence of

early diagnosed disease than colorectal tumors.

Even if breaks in chemo are " bad " meaning that the tumor might not

be controlled as well, we are more than our tumors. If chemo

seriously affects the quality of life, causes serious side effects,

or another coexistant disease that is aggrevated by chemo - that can

be devastating also.

Medicine is an art as well as a science. Although over the time I

have been treated, I, as many of us, have developed a fair

understanding of the basices about my treatment, I appreciate greatly

not only my oncologist's knowledge of the science but also his

judgement when there is, and may never be, concrete data to exactly

define the way.

Kris

not

> > Study initiated by breast cancer is being extended to determine

> > whether inadvertant " chemo-lite " is common with other cancers too-

> and

> > how much the dose can dip before patients' chances of survival

are

> > harmed.

> > See: http://tinyurl.com/ysr5m