Archive for '13 Oral Drugs for Cancer'

Iressa, Tarceva, Chemo and Sutent Did Not Cure Her

 

Suri (M971) is a 61 year old female from Indonesia. Her family came to seek our help on 8 May 2011. She was wheeled into out centre being unable to walk on her own. She was unable to talk, showed no facial expression and did not seem to know what was going. According to her husband, she behaved like a child. Listen to her husband telling us his wife’s story of tragedy.

Life on earth is a living experience. Let the death of Yee be a valuable lesson for many others who come after her.

Yee was 40 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2005. She underwent a mastectomy. It was a Stage 2 disease with no lymph node involvement. The tumour was 3 x 2 x 2 cm in size.

After surgery, Yee received ...

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Fransiska Died

After Surgery, Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy, Herceptin, Tamoxifen, Xeloda and Tykerb

 

(Life on earth is a living experience. Let the death of Fransiska be a lesson for many of those who come after her).

Fransiska, from Jakarta, was thirty-two years old when she found a 1.6 cm lump in her left breast which was diagnosed as cancer. At about the same time, her father had died of cancer. In November 2004, she underwent a lumpectomy in a Singapore hospital. Unfortunately some lymph nodes in her arm pit ...

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Breast Cancer: Herceptin and Brain Metastasis

She Might Have Won Many Battles But Ultimately She Lost Her War

The thick file of SA laid buried on my table for the past three years. Perhaps I should write her story. May be some patients can learn some lessons from her tragic experience.

SA’s problem started in 2006 when she felt a pea-sized, painless lump in her left breast.  She went to Singapore for evaluation.

Bilateral mammograms on 6 March 2006 showed an irregular solid mass, measuring 29.4 ...

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Liver Cancer: Benefit and Side Effects of Nexavar

 

Mutu (not real name,H520) is a 48-year-old male. In November 2010 he had coughs with some phlegm. In late December 2010 he was admitted into a private hospital with complaints of right hypochondrial pain (i.e., pain under the rib-cage margin). He was nauseated but no vomiting. He also had post prandial dyspepsia (i.e., a medical term meaning feeling of unusual fullness, nausea, loss of appetite or belching following a meal).

CT scan of the abdomen showed multiple masses measuring 7.3 x ...

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Surgery and PEI Failed

Pang Was Asked to Take An Expensive Oral Drug

 

Pang (H5) is a 61-year-old male. Sometime in February 2008, he had pains in the abdomen. An ultrasonography showed a large round well-defined mass measuring 5.2 x 5.3 x 6.5 cm in the right lobe of his liver (Segment 6).

Pang was subsequently referred to a surgeon in a private hospital. A CT scan confined right lobe hepatoma measuring 8 x 7 x 8 cm in segments 6 and 7. ...

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RM 300,000 of Medical Adventures Did Not Cure Him

 

Henry, a 54-year old male, came to see us on 24 April 2009. He told us that he had spent about RM 300,000 to cure his lung cancer but failed. He could not see how medical science could help him any more. Also, he had spent enough money and probably is not able to spend anymore chasing after his cancer. Below is a brief outline of what had happened.

  1. Henry was then 50 years old. Sometime in September 2003, he started to have ...
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The Patient Died

After A Meaningless Decline of CA 15.3 and Tumour Shrinkage Following Treatment With Iressa and Tarceva

 

I received an e-mail from Dr. Mark (not real name), a Ph.D. in cancer biology working in a hospital. This is what he wrote:

After visiting the CA CARE website … I realized that this is what I have been looking for in order to help my mum. I would like my mum to try your herbal therapy.

My mum is 70 years old. She had coughs ...

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Oral Targeted Therapies for Cancer

Iressa, Tarceva, Erbitux, Avastin, Herceptin ….

 

The Dream drugs or Smart Bombs are currently designed to target the cancer cells and block or slow the growth of certain types of cancer. They minimise damage to healthy cells. Of course, molecular targeted therapies also cause side effects, but these are generally more moderate than those caused by chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

The common side effects of molecular targeted therapy may include diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, rash, and weakness.

Serious side effects may include severe ...

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Iressa for Lung Cancer

and its side effects

 

AstraZeneca informed the FDA of a study involving 1,700 lung cancer patients:

1. Patients who took Iressa lived for 5.6 months.

2. Those given a placebo (inactive, dummy pill) lived for 5.1 months.

The study shows by taking Iressa, patients live longer by TWO weeks. As a result, Iressa was withdrawn in Western countries. However, patients of Asian origin responded slightly better. They lived FOUR months longer.

1. With Iressa lung cancer patients lived 9.5 months.

2. Without Iressa patients lived only ...

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Nexavar – Expensive Drug That Prolongs Life

 by on 2.8 months and is only 20 to 30% effective?

 

Nexavar (sorafenit) belongs to a class of target chemo-drug called the Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors. Currently drugs belonging to this group family include Sprycel (dasatinib), Tarceva (erlotinib), Iressa (gefitinib), Gleevec (imatinib), Tykerb (lapatinib) and Sutent (sunitinib). With time, there will be more additions.

The first targeted Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor developed and released to the market is Gleevec, used for chronic leukemia. It was developed in the late 1990′s, ...

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Everolimus for Kidney Cancer Metastatised to Lungs

 

Ray (M578) is a restaurant owner in Indonesia. In December 2007, at the age of 53, he was diagnosed with kidney cancer. He underwent a radical nephrectomy. After the surgery, Ray was well and life was back to normal again. About seven years later, the cancer recurred in his lungs. Ray was put on Sutent and suffered severe intolerable side effects. Ray totally stopped taking Sutent.

The oncologist suggested a new ...

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Sutent for Kidney Cancer Metastatised to Lungs

 

Ray (M578),53-year-old, was diagnosed with kidney cancer. He underwent a radical nephrectomy. About seven years later, the cancer spread to his lungs. Ray was prescribed Sutent (sunitinib) for his problem and was started on this oral drug in late August 2007 at a dose of 50 mg daily for 4 weeks (to be recycled every 6 weeks).

 

 

Within days after taking Sutent, Ray developed severe side effects which he found intolerable. ...

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Sutent for Advanced Kidney Cancer: Side Effects

 

SC (TK826) was a 53-year-old male. He had a history of pains in his right shoulder for almost a year. An X-ray did not show any problem. Then in October 2008, his right hand became weak. MRI showed tumour in his spine – T1 / T2. Titanium stent inserted to support the crushed T1. Further investigation indicated the primary as cancer of the kidney. He received 20 radiation treatments. In spite of the treatment, the tumour grew bigger and spread ...

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Die of Cancer But Don’t Die A Bankrupt!

 

It is bad enough to be diagnosed with a metastatic kidney cancer. The situation gets to be real grim when you are told that for this type of cancer there would be no cure. But how do you take it if on top if this you were told to take a drug that cost 100 million rupiah a month that would NOT cure you? And you were scolded for not wanting to take the medication! What can you do if ...

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An expensive and dangerous drug that does not cure

 

KC (E87) is a 50-year-old male. In late January 2013, he had breathing difficulties and had to be hospitalized.  There was fluid in his lung. Pleural tapping was done. KC’s health was restored after 10 days in the hospital where 4 litres of pleural fluid was tapped out.

A CT scan done on 21 February 2013 indicated the following:

  1. Multiple pulmonary nodules in both lower lobes. Right pleural effusion and enhancing right pleural nodules.
  2. Bilaateral heterogeneously enhancing renal masses in upper pole measuring ...
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The Hunt for the Elusive Magic Ingredient

 

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Commonsense and Chemo-drugs

 

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