Avastin

[KWT]

I've noticed some here have said that they cut out Avastin as their onc said "it wasn't doing much anyway" how do they draw that conclusion? I'd hate to cut the cancer center out of some easy money but would prefer to take the least possible amount of chemicals.

[exaussie]

We dropped avastin due to lack of wound healing. It only gives 5 months more survival rate according to oncologist. It was approved for breast cancer but no longer due to damage it causes ie:
•Holes in the colon; when this happens, surgery is usually required.
•Slower healing of wounds
• Internal bleeding that may cause stroke or death
•Patients receiving chemotherapy that injures the heart may have heart failure after Avastin treatment.
•Avastin may cause kidney damage.
•Patients taking Avastin may also experience high blood pressure, fatigue, blood clots in veins, diarrhea, headache, appetite loss, and sores in the mouth.
• Blood in the urine
When our son experienced some of these we dropped it but his cancer was spiraling out of control and not worth doing it. If he was doing better we would have continued.

[vilca11]

Enjoying your new photo, my dear Kenny. Looks very optimistic.

I do remember reading about Avastin adding just a few percent points to OS or PFS, like 3% or something of that low nature. I would not take it for a long run.... Well, I would not take any chemo at this point for a long run, too... so, I am not a good point of reference.... hope your second Fury goes well...
Hugs, hang in for a trial... vilca

[KWT]

Enjoying your new photo, my dear Kenny. Looks very optimistic.

I do remember reading about Avastin adding just a few percent points to OS or PFS, like 3% or something of that low nature. I would not take it for a long run.... Well, I would not take any chemo at this point for a long run, too... so, I am not a good point of reference.... hope your second Fury goes well...
Hugs, hang in for a trial... vilca

Thanks exaussie, when I brush my teeth my gums bleed and the occasional nosebleed and when I was climbing a lot it took for ever for the cuts on my hands to heal.

Hi Vilca, I was wondering about you this morning, I'm an eternal optimist. I don't think there's any going back for us. even if we were cured things would never be close to the same. I routinely ignore this sign.

[jillbugs4110]

True...we are all forever changed.....ptsd....i did not realize avastin was not very effective...hmmmm

[JENNJ]

They cut my Dads Avastin after constant nosebleeds and transient hypertension.
Katy

[juliej]

At least Avastin isn't chemo. It's a monoclonal antibody that blocks VEGF, cutting off the blood supply to tumors. Still, I get your point. Didn't you have Foundation One testing on your tumor? If so, check the report for a high expression of VEGFR1 and/or VEGFR2, which would indicate a good response to Folfiri/Avastin.

I bruised easily on Avastin (was on it for 14 months), which was a pain since I'm pretty active. By the way, I like your no-U-turn picture!

[GrouseMan]

My wife has been on it since August 2013. Only thing that she has noticed with it is it takes blisters longer to heal that she gets from running and she has slightly higher BP than what is normal for her, which for most people would be low. She was a runner and very active before diagnosis. No bloody nose except some when she blows it in the morning. No headaches or other side effects, but she also only gets it once every three weeks now with her 5-FU for maintenance. She has been stable for probably a year now on this treatment. Of course her stamina isn't what it was, and she fatigues more easily than she use to. Her weekly mileage is way down.

I think that this is probably helping to prevent further spread of the mets along with the 5-FU keeping them in check. I also credit the Cimetidine doing something I hope as well.

Regards,

GrouseMan

[ktwmn]

I've had 4 txs of Avastin with full fury so far. The other day I got a nosebleed in yoga class. And I've been noticing my hands and feet feel like they are getting increasingly sore, like there is hot pepper underneath the skin, it is hard to do work with my hands like opening jars or using a screwdriver. I am not sure if that is from the 5FU (but I don't remember having that with folfox, although perhaps the cumulative effect increases). Added to stomach cramps, diarrhea and increasing fatigue, the QOL is going downhill even during the "good" week. When I mention these things to the onc he dismisses them as "normal" side effects.

[mstults]

I was very prone to nosebleeds and had elevated blood pressure.

[KWT]

I have lower blood pressure but I get a nosebleed here and there. I seem to have days where I get out of breathe really easy and other days no problem. Wondering if Avastin is the culprit? It seemed to come on when we reintroduced Avastin to the mix,

[ktwmn]

I get out of breath too, I noticed right after infusion the last time that my upper back ached when I breathed deeply. I think folfiri can do that also, so I'm not sure which is the culprit either!

[lilacbreastedroller]

I did twelve hits of avastin and it did strange things to my snot and quintupled the output. Seriously. It was like I would blow a box of raisins out my nose - thick, hard, and lots of it. And sometimes there were bits of blood in it, but I never had actual nosebleeds. My friend with cervical cancer also took avastin and had the same side effect.

Other than that, I didn't have any major problems. It was my first line treatment, with FOLFOX, and it might have just worked because all my tumors really shrank afterwards.

- Karin

[KWT]

I did twelve hits of avastin and it did strange things to my snot and quintupled the output. Seriously. It was like I would blow a box of raisins out my nose - thick, hard, and lots of it. And sometimes there were bits of blood in it, but I never had actual nosebleeds. My friend with cervical cancer also took avastin and had the same side effect.

Other than that, I didn't have any major problems. It was my first line treatment, with FOLFOX, and it might have just worked because all my tumors really shrank afterwards.

- Karin

Yeah Karin, I know what you're saying, it's pretty unbelievable what comes out of our noses on that stuff