Iressa
Met with Dr Kana of NCI Cancer Hospital yesterday. Not much to report. I showed him the 2 lumps at the end of my left rib. He said currently it is yet something to be concerned about, but need to monitored.
I have rashes on my face and chest area, and breaks at the end of thumbs are the side effects of Iressa. He mentioned about possibility of stopping Iressa for 1 or two weeks if the breaks worsen and infection sets in, this is to apply antibiotics.
Dr Kana also explained that the dosage of Iressa has been varied by his patients. One is taking only twice a week because of the cost, some also vary their dosage other than once per day. I am tempted to do that, one is to see which dose does not or minimise the rash on my face, chest and breaks in the fingers.
The breaks in the thumbs makes it painful to do cooking and washing, but not a big problem since I am wearing glove to do that.
People have been commenting about my face rash, actually its more like pimples; lots of them. They are small dry pimples. Combined with my emancipated state (I have lost like 20kg) I really look like a drug addict! Hej, Leela, Christa, looks like you have to wait for a while for me to regain my dashing movie star good looks...hahaha ;)
Dr Kana is concerned about my weigh loss, and expressed his frustration that I am still on a vegan diet. I explained that I am no food fundamentalist and will change my diet if my weight doesn't improve. I have incorporated eggs into my diet, so I am no longer a strict vegan. Also I will be taking bovine source whey powder starting tomorrow.
He also explained that the steroid I am on also causes protein to be lost; so there are actually a combination of factors, which is causing my weigh loss.
We also talked about how long the good effects of Iressa would last. The mutation of the cancer cells can happen to make it resistent to Iressa, but he has a patient who is still around after 3 years on Iressa. So it all depends on the individual. I would like to think Iressa will be good for me for a loooooong time :)
I have rashes on my face and chest area, and breaks at the end of thumbs are the side effects of Iressa. He mentioned about possibility of stopping Iressa for 1 or two weeks if the breaks worsen and infection sets in, this is to apply antibiotics.
Dr Kana also explained that the dosage of Iressa has been varied by his patients. One is taking only twice a week because of the cost, some also vary their dosage other than once per day. I am tempted to do that, one is to see which dose does not or minimise the rash on my face, chest and breaks in the fingers.
The breaks in the thumbs makes it painful to do cooking and washing, but not a big problem since I am wearing glove to do that.
People have been commenting about my face rash, actually its more like pimples; lots of them. They are small dry pimples. Combined with my emancipated state (I have lost like 20kg) I really look like a drug addict! Hej, Leela, Christa, looks like you have to wait for a while for me to regain my dashing movie star good looks...hahaha ;)
Dr Kana is concerned about my weigh loss, and expressed his frustration that I am still on a vegan diet. I explained that I am no food fundamentalist and will change my diet if my weight doesn't improve. I have incorporated eggs into my diet, so I am no longer a strict vegan. Also I will be taking bovine source whey powder starting tomorrow.
He also explained that the steroid I am on also causes protein to be lost; so there are actually a combination of factors, which is causing my weigh loss.
We also talked about how long the good effects of Iressa would last. The mutation of the cancer cells can happen to make it resistent to Iressa, but he has a patient who is still around after 3 years on Iressa. So it all depends on the individual. I would like to think Iressa will be good for me for a loooooong time :)
posted by Hee Boon at 9:03 pm
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