Anyone on Gemcitabine with Abraxane? How long? Effective?

Hello from Canada.
I am on G/A regimen… since late Feb./23. 3 Fridays treated the skip a Friday… around fifteen treatments to date. Diagnosed in July I had been of Folfirinox since October but it 'wasn't doing its job' (increase to the tumour in head of pancreas) so the switch to G/A. After the last CT scan about 2 months ago I was told there was a slight decrease in size… with moe imaging diagnostics to come in late September. (no liver tissue in my case and no apparent spread). Here's hoping. I return to the chemo wheel tomorrow after a bit of a hiatus from treatment to an urology procedure to remove a stone from my ureter. Pardon the detail. Anyway, I am feeling quite well actually 'within the frame of chemo'… except for the neuropathy in finger tips and my toes and soles, variable appetite and energy levels, diminished eyesight, some leg swelling… and most difficult presently a left foot drop step. Hampers everything. Oh, hairless came immediately after starting G/A but to my surprise it is growing back this summer.
But I am active, and able ~ have even travelled some and generally 'I am making do' with the love and support of others'. It's on with chemo and patiently living with uncertainty… but life, and I will take it.
Last summer I was given 12 months to live with chemo (i was cast into a living grief fo a short life. I am 73) and only in mid-Sept. I was told I was borderline candidate for resection, if I took the harsher treatments of Folfirinox… A year later I still get to be with family and friends, and serve on committees, etc.
yes, we only have this moment and this day to make peace with it all, and soldier on… now there's a mixed metaphor. Best wishes to you on this journey. I hope this offers others a small ray of hope. R.

Hi Helena, I started being treated with gemzar & abraxane in June, every 2 weeks & now every 3 weeks because my bloodwork usually came back low. My first chemo was in October 2022 with Leucovorin, Fluorouracil, Oxaliplatin & Irinotecan, which I had 12 or 14 courses. I'm only on my 5th or 6th treatment of g-a. I haven't had many side effects especially if I remember to keep drinking! I had one episode with side effects: achy joints, muscles, low grade fever up to 101 & physically wiped out. I found Tyenol helped relieve & reduce the side effects. I feel so fortunate I rarely have had nausea or diarrhea but I suffer with constipation a lot, so fiber is my friend! Another side effect is feeling tired out or lack of strength & stamina. Some days are better than others but I'm learning to take a nap when I feel so tired. Since I've been on g-a my cancer marker numbers have been going up. After my last CT, the tumor in the tail has only grown 4mm & the lesions on my liver have stayed almost the same. It is interesting how differently the chemo affects everyone, but that's what makes us all unique. I'm getting chemo tommorrow, so I keep hoping the drugs will affect my cancer. Take care.

My mom is 71 years old and was just diagnosed in late July with stage 4 pan can with nodules to her lungs that are growing. She just started G-A two weeks ago. She will get it every other week due to her being extremely weak and tired. She did get a rash possibly from the Gem which was cleared up with prednisone. She has been tired but had zero nausea or vomiting. Tomorrow will be her second treatment. I hope she continues to tolerate. She really wants to fight this , but she’s awfully tired. Her last CA19-9 was up to 50k. We haven’t told her that, as she was worried when it hit 20.000. Has anyone heard of this number being so high? Back in April before she was diagnosed it was 1500 and we were worried then. Now I don’t know what to think!!!

My mom is 71 years old and was just diagnosed in late July with stage 4 pan can with nodules to her lungs that are growing. She just started G-A two weeks ago. She will get it every other week due to her being extremely weak and tired. She did get a rash possibly from the Gem which was cleared up with prednisone. She has been tired but had zero nausea or vomiting. Tomorrow will be her second treatment. I hope she continues to tolerate. She really wants to fight this , but she’s awfully tired. Her last CA19-9 was up to 50k. We haven’t told her that, as she was worried when it hit 20.000. Has anyone heard of this number being so high? Back in April before she was diagnosed it was 1500 and we were worried then. Now I don’t know what to think!!!

pendesk8,

Given staging that allows resection, why would a surgeon be against the only course of action that has potential as a cure?

Laparoscopic Whipple procedures are performed at several medical centers in the US, including Mayo.

From my experience of one year of pancreatic cancer, and what my oncologist tells me, is that CA numbers in and of themselves do not tell full stories. Accompanying scans will shed more light. I had a jump in CA when I switched from Folferinox to Gemzar Abraxane treatment, that consequently decreased, so there are lot of variables in that blood test. Best wishes. I hope this is somewhat helpful.

My husband and I were discussing my cancer markers going up after having a CT scan. My doctor said he has seen patients that have very high marker counts and are physically doing well. He has also seen patients have low marker counts and are physically doing poorly. I guess we just have to take it as it comes. It bothers me seeing my numbers going up but I don't know if it's good or bad. Will just have to deal with it as it comes. I'm glad to hear she didn't have any nausea or vomiting. This is my 3rd day after getting the G-A. I have been very tired the past few days & I have been taking naps. I also have joint & body aches but I take Tyenol & it helps. It is positive that your mom wants to fight her cancer. I did seem to notice the week after treatment I didn't feel as tired. I hope this goes for your mom too. Take care.

Curious. I hear of stage iv people having the whipple or pancreaectomy. Many doctors claim to work on cases that were deemed inoperable with massive vein involvement, liver, Mets, lymph nodes, etc.
if chemo shrinks the pan mass and the metastatic spots are gone or necrotic, will surgeons still do the surgery? I’ve spoken to many stage iv survivors who have had this chance…why is that some can and some can’t? Look forward to some insight. Inspiration. I know some are even many years out with no evidence of disease or in remission with chemo alone.