We were warned about high BP from the Avastin last week. My wife normally has very low BP so we hope it will not effect her too much.
Terry
Hi Kathryn,
my blood pressure is up a bit but onc has always said to go ahead with avastin, the nurse checks each time if it gets any higher he will put me on bp pills. The lady who has treatment with me has been on them for months, mind you her face was always as red as a phone box!
Antibiotics are making me feel really sick, just hope they get rid of infection.
Hi Terry,
I slept alot when on tax and avastin lost 3/4 of the day.
Love Debsxxx
Hi Terrry - I normally have very low blood pressure - in fact fainting etc when getting out of a chair used to be a problem. Now it is elevated - about 140 over 90, but they are not concerned too much about it. If it gets much worse they will put me onto blood pressure medication.
Tax and Avastin used to wipe me out, too. I used to spend days and days on the sofa. Now I am on Avastin alone things are much better.
Deirdre
Hi Terry,
I’ve been on Avastin for 7 months now. I have my blood pressure taken at every appointment before the infusion and my urine tested. If anything, my blood pressure is slightly low and I have noticed that sometimes when I get up out of a chair or bend my head down to pick something off the floor I feel a little dizzy. I’ve suffered with the runny nose but not joint pains, if anything I would attribute those to pamidronate which I’m also on. For the joint pains I would recommend Magnesium Orotate. This was recommended to me by an Oncologist when I was suffering with bad knee joints. It seems to work because I haven’t had many problems since with the joints. I’m also on Capecitabine (Xeloda) alongside the Avastin, not Taxol. I’m not on a trial and do not receive Avastin privately. My PCT have agreed to funding although I do not know how long for.
Avastin must therefore have been passed by NICE for secondary breast cancer. Yes there are some severe side effects for some people but not for others and that is also the same for chemotherapy drugs. I was on Taxotere following my secondary diagnosis 3 years ago and the Oncologist had to stop it prematurely because she said it would be more likely that the chemo would kill me before the cancer did! Have you ever heard of a chemo sensitivity test? This test can determine which chemo best fights an individual’s cancer. I had this test after the failure of taxotere and it reported that taxanes were not any good for my cancer which had already been proved in it’s failure to stop my cancer spreading.
I get a bit fed up when people so easily condemn the use of some drugs when they have no experience of it themselves. It is so negative and could possibly put other people off taking drugs if they were to listen to people with very little Oncology knowledge. We’re often not offered a lot of drugs that could make a huge difference because of the costs. It is difficult for cancer patients to get the correct knowledge, I find myself in the fortunate position that I’m seeking advice from a German Oncology clinic who have very extensive experience and because it is a private clinic, their advice is based on what is best for the patient and not what is best for their budget! I’m able to challenge my UK Oncologist because of the excellent advice I receive and it has enabled me to secure drugs in the UK that would not normally have been offered. Avastin is one of these drugs. We all know there is no cure for cancer but extra time with family sure beats biting the dust!!
Avastin has not been used long enough for there to be statistics that can confidently give pros and cons for its use.
I hope my comments have been of some use. I just wanted to give you my experience, not tell you that your wife should or should not continue with it.
Good luck
Spike
Hi Spike, Thanks for that, really encouraging.
I presume as you have had Tax etc that this is the second line of treatment or the third ? I must admit I am completely lost with all of this as my wife has had Taxotere, with Xeloda, then Xeloda alone, then Femara, which did not work, then 9 sessions of FEC and now the Avastin, every week for three weeks then every two weeks along with another chemo agent, we are just in a stage asking if we are at the end of treatments, thats all. We are back at hospital tomorrow for Avastin number 2. Two years and six months of continuous chemo takes it´s toll.
Thanks again, all this helps us a lot.
XX
Terry
Hi Terry
I started with Taxotere 3 years ago, went on to xeloda plus Herceptin, FEC, Navelbine and now back on Xeloda. I don’t feel that I have come to the end of treatments as the German Oncologists have pointed out that there is so much more that can be done. In December 2007 my cancer had spread from the bones to my liver. I then underwent 7 months of intensive monthly treatment in Germany and my liver is now in remission. I had 3 tumours measuring approximately 3-4 cm, 1-2 cm and 9mm. I hope that with Xeloda, Avastin and Pamidronate we are able to contain the cancer in my bones but who knows. 3 years of fairly continuous treatment do take their toll and I do get down and fed up with hospital trips, infusions, tablets but then I think about my children and that is what keeps me going. I have been suffering with a painful chest and back recently. I had an x-ray and then CT scan which came back clear. My UK Oncologist was really pleased and said that I couldn’t get a better scan result. I’m also having an MRI scan in November. I’ve still got back problems but whether they’re related to the cancer in the bones I’m not sure about but it won’t kill me.
Best wishes.
Spike
Hi Spike, Thanks again. Just come back from hospital with my wife after second Avastin. Did not take so long this time and so far she feels OK just tired as usual. I will post how she gets on the rest of the week.
XX
Severe leg and hip pain last night, we needed two extra morphine tablets plus a sleeping pill. However this morning she seems a lot better.