I just need some input on what second line chemo is, Dad had gone through 6 weeks of chemo and radiation together in 2001, has had his ups and downs but cancer is now in main right bronchli. There had been mention that (maybe) he could have second line chemo. He can not have more radiation because of scar tissue, plus as I understand there is a limit to what they can give.
Any help would be appreciated.

My father just finished his second line treatment of low dose Taxotere. He has had excellent results and is currently trying a new treatment with the help of his onocologist.
http://www.cancerprotocol.com/index.html

Cary

Hi Cary, could you tell me more about your Father. Had his cancer spread? to where?
Thanks for the info.

Hi john, I have a birthday party today but will write you when i get back.

Cary

[This message has been edited by bostton1 (edited 05-10-2003).]

My Father has recurrent adenocarcinoma(originally diagnosed April 2001) Taxol/Carboplatin, lower right lobe removed, and radiation. All scans were supposedly clear until DEC 2002.(actually read the old scan reports and they had watched it grow but did not inform us) He was given 2-4 months in DEC 2002, he had 10-15 smaller tumors in each lung(around 1 cm each) and 2-3 larger ones(2.5-3cm each)and last but not least the 3-4cm tumor pushing on his aorta. he started taxotere and the first 2 rounds he got extremely low white counts and almost ended up in the hospital. So after researching we talked to the oncologist and he agreed to do low dose taxotere and the oncologist stated that this treatment was becoming the norm at most places if requested(40% a week for 3 weeks and the 4th week off) and he started a few other treatments at the same time(copper protocol). surprisingly, his Medicare HMO had no problem with any of this and picked up all his weekly blood tests(for his copper program). He just finished his 6th round of chemo on the 7th of may and only has very small tumors left, So now the cooper reduction should hold them in place and also over time shrink them completely. I stumbled upon the cancer protocol site after I had already pieced my fathers treatment together on my own. It is a great site and lots of useful info on low dose chemo and the copper protocol, and is basically the same as my fathers treatment with a few adjustments. http://www.cancerprotocol.com/
I hope all this helps, There are quite a few docs on the east coast doing these treatments and a few on the west coast also. here is the link to the clinical trial of the copper drug he is currently using. http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/6/1/1
Tetrathiomolybdate is the drugs name and you can do a Google search on your own of the drug. It is not currently FDA approved(2 years) but there are doctors prescribing it and you can get it filled at certain pharmacies. It is roughly $200 a month for the prescription then as you adjust your dose and take less, naturally the price per month goes down
(my father is at $90 a month) Hope this has helped, If anyone needs any additional info just let me know.
I think we can use links here if they are solely to informational sites (medical journal and a educational cancer treatment) correct? I also forgot that Staten Island University Hospital is performing radiosurgery on any tumor from head to toe as standard practice and have amazing results, other hospitals only perform this on brain tumors It is the same as Gamma Knife(do a search), and you can even receive this procedure if you have received radiation in the past to the same area, since the radiation comes from multiple directions and does not harm normal tissue. And last but not least, I am not a doctor and these are just my opinions and/or personal experiences http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif
If you or anyone else has any questions or needs any additional help please feel free to ask, I'll be more than happy to help. WOW it took four edits LOL
Cary


[This message has been edited by bostton1 (edited 05-11-2003).]

[This message has been edited by bostton1 (edited 05-11-2003).]

[This message has been edited by bostton1 (edited 05-11-2003).]

[This message has been edited by bostton1 (edited 05-11-2003).]

[This message has been edited by bostton1 (edited 05-23-2003).]

Thanks Cary, my Dad has squamous cell lung cancer, they could not operate to far advanced. In 2001 he had 6 weeks of combined chemo and radiation, which did help. Last summer was good for him but over the winter and this spring he seemed to get worse. The cancer is now in the right main bronchi and will eventually cut off is windpipe.
The second line treatment they are talking about is LA, not sure what that is but will know next week. The thing now is to keep him comfortable as possible. Dad is now using oxygen which does ease him but...
Sharon

[This message has been edited by Blackbird (edited 05-11-2003).]