Now for the real words. My husband is 79 years old, suffers from spinal stenosis and dementia. He will have his bottom teeth removed Monday, June 16, and start radiation therapy on July 13. The problems is his kidney readings are BUN 43 and CRE is 1.8. The doctor (James Pearlman, Tampa Veteran's Hospital in Tampa) mention a certain type of chemo or part of chemo that did not further impair the kidneys. It begins with T and I believe the first 3 letters are Top. He said the usual Cis-platinum would be bad. Would anyone know what this is?

Jim has cancer on the base of his tongue and tonsil base (he has no tonsils).

The hospital has offered to put Jim in their nursing home during treatment. I don't think I am able to handle his agony in the last few weeks of treatment and agree that it would be best to put him into the hands of professionals. The VA would put me in a place nearby. We live 53 miles north of Tampa. Can anyone support me on this decision?

Hi there...sorry your husband has had so many difficulties to deal w/ and now cancer is thrown into the equation.

Is the chemo your doctor referenced taxotere? I don't recall seeing that used concurrently with radiation treatment.

My husband was switched from Cisplatin to Erbitux. Erbitux is not in the same family of chemo drugs as Cisplatin. I'd recommend asking your doctor about Erbitux.

I think you are making a good decision to have your husband in nursing care during treatment. Treatments can be tough. Your husband will need to track his fluid and calorie intake along with various medications for anti nausea and pain.

My husband had base of tongue cancer and by all other accounts appeared to be very healthy. Well into treatment, being his caregiver became a tough job. Add to that the dementia your husband is suffering from and the job becomes infinitely more difficult.

He will need your support, but you will be better rested and more at ease if you are able to let the professionals manage the side effects and do all of the tracking that needs to be done.

This board is a wonderful forum to ask questions, share experiences and to vent when frustrated. People will always try to help you...but, it helps all of us if you add your signature line about your husbands type of cancer and treatment plan. Mine is below the line in my post.

Just go up to the menu bar and select "My Stuff" then select "Profile"...if you scroll down on the Profile page you will see a section called "Signature". Enter what you have listed in this post about the type of cancer along with your husband's other health issues...and add what you know about the treatment plan.

You can update your signature as things change. Every time you post, your signature information will be added automatically to your post.

http://www.taxotere.com/consumer/headneck_cancer/benefits.aspx
This might be it. But it only works with cisplatin + fluorouracil?

We see ENT on July 17 but I might have to wait until June 26 to talk to Chemo Oncology. I think the doctor wanted to stay away from platinum-based chemotherapy.

I did signature as you suggested.

Sandy

I think it is a good idea to put him in a nursing home ran by the VA.. It can be tough going. I had Erbitux and it seems to have worked .

Yes, he was prescribed Erbitux but now I see that Nimotuzumab may be just as good with fewer, or less violent side effects. But how do I tell his doctor that we are interested in changing to Nimotuzumab? Dis you get the rash that comes with Erbitux?

Taxotere is indeed indicated for use in conjunction with Cisplatin but the doctors may use it by itself because of the kidney issues.

5FU (Flouricil) is another chemo agent that has no specific contraindication for the kidneys, however a warning is published in the literature that kidney and liver testing should be routinely performed if using 5FU.

The rash with Erbitux is pretty predicatable and a common side effect.

We all respond differently to treatment and some will find that Taxotere and/or Erbitux intolerable and others won't. You won't really know until the therapy is started. You'll want to make sure that there is adequate monitoring, in the nursing home, to insure that allergic or adverse reactions, should they occur, are dealt with in a timely manner.

Ive had cisplatin and know the side effects can include hearing loss and kidney problems. As in any medication, there are always side effects. Discuss your concerns with the doctor.

Best of luck with treatments.

Cisplatin is not an option because of its nephrotoxicity

I emailed my MO and he snt me this: "The VA has excellent H&N protocols, primarily because of the patient population. That sounds like a good drug selection to me." My question to him was about thwe Taxotere and Erbituc combination.

The Erbitux rash is well known and I haven't heard of very many serious side effects from this. It can usually be managed.

Hope this helps