Metronomic Chemo For Osteo - Experiences / Alternatives?

[Rickiesmom]

Jaynie will have her last IV chemo treatment for OSA later this month, and my understanding is that this is usually followed by oral chemo meds on an alternating schedule.

 

She will be constrained in what she can receive because of her kidneys, and I am sort of fence-sitting on whether I want to do this at all, or pursue alternatives. What reading I've done seems to suggest there is not a lot of evidence it really helps, and there are still clinical trials going on to better make that determination.

 

There is a DVM in the area who specializes in Eastern medicine and I am thinking of taking her to see him, at least for a consult. The objective would be to find out if there are any therapies he can suggest that may be helpful (in supporting her immune system if nothing else) that are also kidney safe.

 

In sum, my choices are:

 

- do nothing after IV chemo

- do the metronomic treatment with whatever she can have

- pursue responsible alternatives.

 

I would be interested in other people's experiences with any of the above, and in particular if you did alternative treatments. (I have found information in other threads, but some of it is old, and some of it is kind of in-passing, so I am hoping for a very focused discussion here.)

 

Thank you!

[greysmom]

For Dude, we did do metronomic protocol following IV chemo. It was still recommended by Dr Couto at the time. I believe he has since stated that there is no clinincal evidence it helps.

 

Our procedure was done with cytoxan (compounded specifically for him and his weight), piroxicam (an nsaid which has some anti cancer properties), and another supplement which I've totally forgotten the name of right at the moment. Nsaid every day, with alternating cytoxan and the other thing.

 

I can't say for certain whether it helped or not.

[spottydog]

My lab pyr/lab cross finished her iv chemo and no further oral chemo was even discussed. Aclasta, the bone building iv drug might still be useful. We had a few rounds of that stuff in combo with her chemo.

[tbhounds]

It was just mentioned in a previous post but I also heard Dr Couto mention recently that he doesn't feel a metronomic chemo protocol post traditional chemo for OSA has any benefit. I do want to point out that he does not feel that way for other cancers--he had my girl on a metronomic protocol for a thyroidcarcinoma post surgery and I must say it appeared to work-she was in remission for 2 years before I lost her to a brain tumor.

[greysmom]

Artemisinin! That was the third pill! A supplement with cancer fighting properties.

[krissn333]

Pinky did Cytoxan, Piroxicam, and Artemisinin as well. No side effects.

[Rickiesmom]

Jaynie's last Carboplatin treatment was yesterday. I am still struggling with what to do about metronomics. Dr. Couto recommended going with Artemisinin only (I initiated a consult about metronomics specifically). This indicates his opinion about their lack of effectiveness stands.

 

Jaynie's oncologist is recommending we move forward with either Cytoxan or Leukeran. Cytoxan has about a 10% chance of causing bladder hemorrhagic cystitis, which, if it occurs, is apparently very painful and can take some time (weeks or even months) to clear up even after the drug is stopped. She said Leukeran does the same job as Cytoxan but with no known side effects.

 

I figured it was a no-brainer - if we move forward with this, then we'd use Leukeran. However, I have since read that the effective metronomic dosing for Leukeran hasn't yet been determined, and as a result, it may, in fact, not be as effective, or even effective at all.

 

I want to do everything possible for Jaynie, but don't want to do harm.

 

The other consideration is that she can't have NSAIDs, and I don't know how much that diminishes the benefits of Cytoxan/Leukeran, something I need to ask. If the benefit of the chemo drug without the NSAID is marginal, then I probably wouldn't put her on it.

 

I read through last year's thread on metronomics, which focused on Palladia primarily. It looks like Dr London's results still haven't been published (at least I couldn't find them). Jaynie's oncologist recommends Palladia only for lung mets, and not for metronomics.

 

Thoughts?