I am so frustrated!!! My husband did great on the 35 rads and 3 Cisplatin completed 2/18. Then they convinced us to do the additional chemo with Cisplatin and infusion 5FU 3/10. He suffered a severe reaction and ended up in the hopital for 9 days with severe chemical burn. He has been home since 3/24 and said that he felt worse after this last chemo round than at any other time of treatment.

So his throat is finally coming back around and on 4/1 he said he felt much better but had a scheduled appointment to have his blood checked and I was at work(imagine that!) So he called me and said his blood work was bad and that they gave him a shot in the stomach. Well I went on the internet and discoverd that Head and Neck patients are not supposed to get these shots because it promotes tumor growth. Not to mention the fact that he just had a stent put in in 9/07 for blockage with the discovery of blood clots. And this drug warns of heart attack, stroke, blood clots.

I talked to his RO and he said that the danger is only when the patient is undergoing chemo and radation at the sametime and given the drug. But I think?? that I am reading otherwise.

Can any of you smarter than a 5th grader folks help me understand the danger with Aranesp?

THanks, Cindy

I had to have a shot in my stomache daily after I had the tongue rad implants. The Dr told me it was to prevent blood clots. They stopped them the day I got discharged. Hope this helps, but I don't know how.