Hi everyone,
It has been 10 days since my mom's first injection of Irinotecan + Erbitux. I was expecting pretty bad side effects having heard many terrifying stories with Irinotecan but my mom is feeling just fine so far. She had no diarrhea at all. Except for flushing in the face (went away after two days) and very manageable nausea (relieved with zofran), there has been no noticeable side effects. So well tolerated that the Erbitux rash seems worst side effects of all.
My mom still have to endure this hoarse voice caused by the pleural effusion -- our onc decided not to do another pleural tap and let the fluid drain itself, assuming the chemo works.
I am wondering if there is any correlation between the efficacy and the side effects of chemo? I read somewhere that studies showed the more rash you get, the more effective Erbitux is.