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Immunotherapy to start if scan shows shrinkage of SCLC cells
I was wondering if anyone can tell me about immunotherapy and if we should expect side effects? My husband who was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer with Mets to liver and vertebrae has completed 3 of 4 of his treatment cycles and his last is the week of the 19th. He has tolerated the treatments quite well. Only a couple bouts of nausea, thin ned out hair but not total baldness and appetite seems fair to good. He will have his repeat CT to see how tumors have responded to the chemo and if all is good, will start immunotherapy on Feb. 9th and 1x a month for at least a year or so. . Is there any tips or anything I/we should know? I am not sure yet what drug they will give him for this. I see many complaints from those who take Keytruda for body and joint aches. Thank you for your feedback!
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Also, the oncologist will do a repeat MRI of his brain too. If it still shows no cancer lesions, should he still have radiation to the brain? Thank you!
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1 ReactionThere should be a session with the oncology nurse for teaching you what to expect. My hair and skin got really dry. Do pay attention to your/his body and something feels off or odd -report it. He has lived in his body a long time and he is the authority on it.
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1 Reaction@ohiogal8860, Is this your husband's final week of chemo? Is he still doing ok?
If they recommend immunotherapy going forward try to keep in mind that there are many people who are able to have these types of treatments with minimal side effects. Wishing you both the best possible results.
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3 Reactions@lls8000, yes he seems to be doing quite well. Labs are pretty good, with the exception of low RBCs, Hemoglobin and Hematocrit. Very few episodes of nausea. Hair didn’t completely fall out and trying to push himself to eat, even when he doesn’t feel hungry. He still hasn’t let go of the cigarettes though. I’ve tried but he isn’t listening. Hoping and praying for a miracle healing!
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2 Reactions@ohiogal8860 I'm interested in hearing the thoughts of everyone. I'm getting ready for round 3 of my chemo and will be on the immunotherapy soon. I'm 100% dedicated to fighting the disease on every front and knowledge is certainly what I need to make good decisions and continue to move forward.
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2 ReactionsI’ll be starting Tarlatamab in the coming weeks after completing 6 rounds of Cisplatin and Etoposide. I’m curious if anyone has experience with Tarlatamab for SCLC. I’m also on Tagrisso for NSCLC. Thx for any insights.
@ohiogal8860 Speaking only from my personal experience (I have small cell lung cancer), I first had a round of whole-brain radiation and then an MRI two months latter. That revealed one very small lesion that the first round had not taken care of. The doctors then delivered a high, precisely targeted dose to that lesion. Two months later, I had another MRI that showed the targeted dose had taken care of the lesion, but another lesion had developed in a different area. I went back for another high, precisely targeted dose and am awaiting my next MRI to see where things stand. My radiation oncologist says the effects of radiation continue working for about two months after treatment so they do the next MRI after two months. Again, in my experience, I only get a repeat MRI if new cancer shows up that must be treated. Then after the treatment, I'll get another MRI two months later to verify the effectiveness of the treatment. I wouldn't think your husband would get more radiation unless more cancer shows up on the MRI. Because of the potential side effects, in my experience they are very careful about using radiation on the brain.
@larryd287 I agree. I get MRIs every 3 months to rule out new Mets. So far I’ve only had one to the brain but they keep checking as surveillance. I’m on Tagrisso daily which is extremely effective at crossing the blood-brain barrier. I’ve had no brain Mets since being on Tagrisso.
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1 Reaction@larryd287 ,
Thank you for sharing. My husband had 2 brain MRIs since his treatment started, the last being a week ago. Neither of them showed brain Mets but his oncologist said that with SCLC, Mets to the brain is common after chemo stops and so prophylactic brain irradiation drops the percentage down to 14% from 60. However, he said 5 consecutive days of radiation and when we met with the radiation oncologist yesterday, he said 10 treatments. He said memory loss is most common side effect that doesn’t necessarily come back. He wants him to take a med that is given to Alzheimer’s patients that’s shown to improve memory. I’ve read to see if this was standard of care and it is. It is also controversial because of memory loss. Some studies show if avoid the memory center in the brain, the Mets finds its way to that area anyways and can choose tight surveillance but chances of Mets is very high and stroke and or seizures could be possibilities. My husband wants to fight this enemy but seems in a dilemma with screwing with his brain if no need right now. I can’t tell him what to do. I could be wrong. I am going to have to look up this Tagrisso. He has him on Tecentriq for immunotherapy.
God bless as you too battle this disease.
Donna
I guess this Tagrisso is used for NON small cell LC, not SCLC.