My side effects with Erbitux were skin shedding and a terrible rash that got worse each treatment. I never got a headache nor fever.and my vomiting was connected with the mucositis. I would be sure to raise this with your medical team as these do NOT sound like standard reactios to Erbitux. Good luck as the Erbitux ended up not working for me even after 8 treatments. Hope they tested your Mom for the K-ras gene that determines whether or not she is one of the 40% of patients for whom Erbitux is worthless. Ironically my CCC - Lombardi_ which gave the press comment below NEVER tested me. BEAR IN MIND I AM NOT A DOCTOR AND THEY HAVE JUST APPLIED THESE GUIDELINES TO COLON CANCER BUT THE WAY THAT ERBITUX WORKS IS THE SAME AS FAR AS I CAN SEE. NEVER NEVER NEVER TREAT ANY COMMENT HERE AS VALID MEDICAL ADVICE - ESPECIALLY MINE
"The new guidelines stipulate that only patients whose tumors have the wild-type (normal) KRAS genes should receive treatment with the epidermal growth-factor receptor (EGRF) inhibitors cetuximab and panitumumab.

The incorporation of this step into the guidelines formalizes what has already become standard clinical practice in many centers, and illustrates a very rapid uptake for a research finding � little more than a year. As John Marshall, MD, from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, in Washington, DC, said in his recent Medscape Oncology expert blog, for the treatment of colon cancer, "KRAS changes everything."