Hi,
The RO wants to have Richard try 2 infusions of the Erbitux instead of taking the 3rd Cisplatin. We are going in on the 17th to see the MO and Richard will probably start this coming week. The RO wants to make sure the node totally shrinks away and indicated that this change in treatment should work. The node is quite a bit smaller, but still not totally gone. She also mentioned that there could be scar tissue. He has 7 radiation treatments left, so they probably will fit the 2 Erbitux infusions in.
It was disappointing because we jumped to the conclusion that the treatment isn't working. I felt better after talking to the RO yesterday. She said that in some cases it can take a little longer for the node to shrink and since the dose of Cisplatin can be so hard on the body, she thinks he will respond better to Erbitux.
Has anyone had a similar experience? Should we get anything ahead of time for side effects from Erbitux. With only 2 infusions, the RO didn't think the skin reactions would be too bad. I know that I've read about immediate skin reactions so we will have to wait and see. I wouldn't have thought anything about this change if they had used the two drugs to begin with, but changing towards the end is disconcerting. Things are probably fine, but what a roller coaster ride this whole ordeal is. Thanks ahead for any feedback. Geri