NHL-----RITUXAN RITUXAN

[Guest guest]

Friends I think I have inquired about this before but i do not remember

what response has been.

For about 6 months now I have been encouraged by my oncologist to take the

Rituxan series of treatments for my lovw grade NHL. I have been on the

Cantron liquid and heavy enzyme and other natural stuff which many others

have been successful with other types of cancer such as lung and probobly

many othersothers. However for me , my nodes have been enlarging still and

I still suffer from fatigue. I am also thinking about going ahead with the

oncologist suggestion about Rituxan. He has told me several times

that one does not suffer the usual side effects that come with chemo such as

hair loss etc. I would go into the clinic once a week for four to six

weeks to receive the stuff into the blood stream I guess.

HAS ANYONE ON THIS LIST BEEN TREATED BY RITUXAN ???

If so I would like to chat with you to find out what you went through.

Harold

[Guest guest]

Dear Harold:

Rutuxan is pretty safe. It's antibodies. Rutuxan works very well for

Lymphoma patients. It is not like chemo. No major side effects that I have

seen. However, make sure that you do alternative as well to protect yourself

when taking any type of medical treatment. Also detoxification is a must.

You will do just fine. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

[Guest guest]

Rituxan has pretty serious side effects--like death--in some

cases. This from Google Groups

Dear Doctor:

It is important that Genentech, Inc. and IDEC Pharmaceuticals

Corporation inform you of eight post-marketing reports of severe

infusion-related adverse events associated with the use of

RITUXAN (rituximab) that resulted in fatal outcomes. These

adverse events represent an increase in the severity of

infusion-related symptoms. Since its approval in November 1997,

for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory

low-grade or follicular, CD20 positive, B-cell non-Hodgkin's

lymphoma, approximately 70 cases of serious infusion-related

events have been reported out of an estimated 12,000 to 14,000

patients that have been treated with rituximab worldwide. The

labeling for RITUXAN (rituximab) will be revised to reflect this

new information.

In seven of the eight fatalities, severe symptoms occurred during

the first RITUXAN (rituximab) infusion. The cause of death was

not reported or remains unknown for two of the eight cases. In

most cases, death was preceded by severe bronchospasm, dyspnea,

hypotension, and/or angioedema. Severe respiratory events,

including hypoxia, pulmonary infiltrates, and adult respiratory

distress syndrome, contributed to six of the eight reported

deaths. In some cases symptoms worsened over time, while in

others initial improvement was followed by clinical

deterioration. Therefore, patients experiencing any of the severe

infusion-related symptoms mentioned above or in the labeling (see

ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the enclosed package insert) should

be monitored closely until complete resolution of their symptoms

occurs.

Review of the reports for these eight patients did not reveal a

common pattern of predisposing factors. However, it appears that

patients with a high tumor burden or with a high number

(>50,000/mm3) of circulating malignant cells may be at higher

Read the rest of this message... (87 more lines)

LizaWorld@... wrote:

> Dear Harold:

> Rutuxan is pretty safe. It's antibodies. Rutuxan works very well for

> Lymphoma patients. It is not like chemo. No major side effects that I

> have

> seen. However, make sure that you do alternative as well to protect

> yourself

> when taking any type of medical treatment. Also detoxification is a

> must.

> You will do just fine. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

>

>

>