Hello,

My mom's cancer has spread to left lung, lower spine and her 8th rib. The two chemo options are as follows:

Here is the schedule for 3 drugs:
carboplatin day 1
fluorouracil daily (via pump attached to PORT) for four days
every three weeks
with
cetuximab weekly

For 2 drugs:
Taxol day 1
carboplatin day 1
Every 3 weeks

The MO must have an opinion which is best, and would have spelled out the differences in the side effects and prognosis. What else did he say?

Recommended 2nd option because the side effects may be too much from the three part drug considering cisplatin was too much previously. Also if the 2 part drug is not successful, there is another backup treatment. Not so much with the 3 part drug option.

I guess she can be grateful to avoid Cisplatin, its pretty nasty stuff. I'll defer to others here who have experience with the other drugs, but the MO will be basing his recommendation on a detailed knowledge of her case history. My prayers and best wishes for a good outcome.

Fluorouracil Was very rough for me. The Cisplatin caused creatinine to go up and tinnitus that seems to be my friend for life but otherwise wasn't so bad for me. My mother was on Taxol every 3 weeks for a year and seemed to tolerate it well.

I haven't had experience with the specific cocktails mentioned.

I'll 2nd with what the MO's opinion is? Which chemo or combination will work best in your mothers case, have least toxicities. I had all these chemos mentioned at one time or another, and they have similar, and their own toxicities. Fluorouracil, aka 5-FU, is not easy, as mentioned, so is taxol, but depends on dosage too, they all do, and cetuximab, aka Erbitux, is notorious for the rash. Carboplatin, was easiest, at least for me. This sounds like palliative care induction chemo with no surgery or radiation planned. Hopefully whatever cocktail is given will wipe this out, make the tumors smaller.

Hi Nick,

Sorry to hear about the recurrence. Given distant mets and the chemo options offered, it seems like the MO is treating this as palliative rather than curative treatment.

Your mother's current health and strength would be factors and it sounds like the recommended option is less toxic.

I had taxotere, 5-FU and cisplatin together on a three week cycle. It is a very rough treatment as others can testify. I had carboplatin weekly during radiation and that was a breeze, really felt no chemo side effects.

You did not mention how many cycles of chemo for her treatment. If it is longer term, then that tilts the decision to the lower toxic option.

The question I would be asking is the difference in effectiveness of the two treatments in reducing the cancer. If they both reduce the cancer but at different rates, then the less toxic option seems acceptable.

Ultimately, your doctor has all the data and expertise and if you trust him/her, then accept his recommendation. If you feel like having another opinion then get one as it certainly can not hurt; although, it might offer other options and make your decision more difficult.

Good luck

3 sessions 3 weeks apart. We are doing taxol and carboplatin. We found out about the recurrence last Monday the 15th and probably won't start treatment until next Tuesday/Wed because we just started taking artemis plus, green tea extract, curcummin and are hoping to let some of it get into the system prior. This makes me nervous b/c I want to do chemo ASAP

Nick, please tell me all the docs are aware of what you are doing outside of the "system". They should know what things can cause more issues versus help. Better safe than sorry. I'm not a proponent of supplements and things like a concentrated form of a drink like green tea. Antioxidants may not be good with active cancer, but the docs should answer this. Green tea extract has many precautions such as worsening anxiety, interfering with blood clotting plus a heavy hit on the liver.