My wife had the cipo/taxol chemo an 35 rads. 6;weeks after rads cancer returned .Began cispo/taxol again but tumor grew and spread. Oncologist offered up Erbitux as an option. Said 3-4 weeks would tell. Carcinoma of cheek. Otherwise with no treatment 3-6 months,probably on low side. She has basically said no more but leaves a little wiggle room. At almost 81 yrs of age she thinks it may be too much. Pretty good shape for her age tho. Any good experiences with the drug

Paul, I am very sorry to hear this. My husband noticed a reduction in the size of the affected lymph node within about a week and a half of the first Erbitux infusion - well before the radiation could have worked. The earache that he had from the primary tumor also disappeared pretty early on.

My husband did have the rash - which is generally a good sigh that it is working. The rash was annoying, but did not really slow him down that much. It is cummulative, though, and if there are skin issue, they will be more severe after 3 months.

If the Erbitux does help, it could buy you some pretty good quality time together. It has the rash as a side effect, but generally does not make the patient as sick as the other chemos (there are execptions of course).

Hope this helps. Best wishes to you both.

Maria

Paul there are many discussions about Erbitux on the forum. Try using the search function by typing Erbitux in the box over towards the top right. Im sure you will learn quite alot about this chemo just by using the search function.

The one good thing about Erbitux is it is said to be better with non HPV related cancer such as your wife"s - though honestly the tumor being in her cheek the best and possible treatment is surgery. I say this because it's a quick recovery generally. And then you're done with a chance of a cure / more time together. plus really after three weeks she'll be done with everything since it normally takes 6 weeks to completely heal... Assuming its still local. Definitely beats running to the hospital weekly the chemo cocktails etc... Hugs...it's a tough decision.

Wife decided against the surgery first tim around because of the radical and long procedure and a 20% cure chance. Tumor is now larger and the surgery is much more radical.

I know. And being her age I totally understand. I usually say stats are dependent very much on the dr., health, hospital, and lifestyle - they all come into play. And as you said its harder to surgically treat now. If the Erbitux doesn't shrink the tumor then maybe it will at least stabilize the tumor. One of the people here on the forum, her father Is on a chemo regiment that has stabilized his tumor and he is doing okay. maybe look into what he is taking. God bless and hugs.