I take a cough medicine with hydro codons in it, probably similar to what Dianne describes above. I am also starting a series of radiation to attempt to deal with the cough and also deal with pain under my ribs. Hope it works as the coughing fits are annoying and tiring. Also, ending up with the dry...

Gwen.. I am so sorry to read this news. You have been such an inspiration to me in my fight. I always look for your posts and I try to emulate the way you find joy every day, despite this cancer beast. Wishing you blessed time feeling well enough to enjoy the Princess through at least Christmas and ...

Helen.. I have never posted on the "wives etc.." Thread because I am a patient, not a caregiver. I have followed your and Pam's story for some time though. I was and continue to be inspired by your love for each other. It's apparent many others are too. I wish for you to know peace and joy...

With all due respect to your doc, I think we tend, as cancer patients with mets, to focus less on long term side effects. Without the range of treatments available in our arsenal, we may not be around to see the "long term". I am glad we are still free in the US to make those decisions wit...

Maia.. Sending positive energy to your friend and to you. Thank you for all you do on this board, sharing your research efforts. I hope the WBR helps your friend. It sounds scary to me.

Thanks ladies. Hope the Gemcitabine is tolerable and gives me some shrinkage or at least stability. Ashlee, I will be interested to hear what is next for you. I completely understand being discouraged by this disease. It is a tough battle. I've sort of taken Belle's (NWGirl) tag line as my mantra. &...

Hi Ashlee.. I am in the same boat as you. After 3 rounds of Irinotecan plus Xeloda, my scan shows 20% growth. It didn't work at all. Of course, it made me sicker than any other chemo I have taken in the six years since I was diagnosed. My onc here at UC Irvine had my original tumor tissue (from rect...

Picasso.. I have just finished 3 rounds of Xeliri (Irinotecan plus Xeloda). My side effects are largely the same as your fathers. GI issues plus nausea and vomiting. My hair has thinned to the point that I wear a hat or wig if I am leaving the house, as you can see through my hair to my scalp in sev...

Stringer.. I never had joint swelling, but that doesn't mean anything. Since Stivarga is so new, they are just sorting out the side effects, so even the online info about it may be wrong or incomplete.

Best wishes, Bonnie

I wish our stupid government had left my insurance alone and tried to help those without insurance without making me and people like me a sacrificial lamb. I have good insurance through Anthem Blue Cross in CA. I am one of those who is losing my insurance to Obamacare. I will have it through the end...

Hi Stringer. Welcome to the forum. I was on Stivarga most of 2013, until I had progression in November. You are experiencing hand-foot syndrome. You should talk to your onc about it ASAP. I was fortunate to only have grade 1 HFS. Sounds like yours is much worse. One thing people do is a dose reducti...

Sophy.. Congrats on getting through that. It would be amazing if you didn't have to go thru second operation. Please keep us posted on your recovery. I am interested in what the basis is of Dr Rolle's opinion that the ones on the other side are not cancerous. After my next scan in Feb., I am going t...

Hi Jane.. Fellow warrior.. My first infusion of Irinotecan was actually much worse than the last two. The Aloxi in my drip, plus Zofran, gave me a screaming headache for three days after infusion. Since my onc and I agreed that it was that class of drugs, she switched me to a scopolamine patch and C...

Hi All.. Greetings from SoCal. Lying low today after my third infusion of Irinotecan. Looking forward (not so much) to thee next four days of feeling crummy despite a host of anti-nausea meds and anti-diarrhea meds. After that, pretty good 16 days or so until next infusion. Looking forward to gettin...

I had stereotactic radiation on one met back in June of 2011 at UC San Diego. They only treated one spot. There were others, but they weren't judged (by rad onc and med onc at UCSD) to be in places where their growth could cause imminent harm. I think they know a lot more now about after effects tha...