We met with the General Oncologist the next day to finally discuss L's treatment. Dr. Jasani is a part of Dr. Zafereo's medical team. They all met this morning to discuss my husband's case. He will have the port put in next Tuesday, the 20th at Methodist West Hospital in Katy. Then next Friday, the 23rd of March he will start his chemotherapy. This is exactly one month from the day he was told that he had cancer. The day our lives changed forever.
We all decided that it would be best to go after this cancer, aggressively.....to use the most extreme medicines, Full Dose TPF. The first two drugs listed are the meds that will be given at the time of treatment at MD Anderson, one after another. The third drug will be administered by a pump worn home for four days after the initial chemo treatment.
1. Cisplatin: belongs to the group of medicines known as alkylating agents.
Cisplatin interferes with the growth of cancer cells, which are eventually destroyed. Since the growth of normal body cells may also be affected by cisplatin, other effects will also occur.
How Cisplatin Is Given:
• Cisplatin is administered through a vein (intravenously or IV) as an infusion.
• There is no pill form of Cisplatin.
• Cisplatin is an irritant. An irritant is a chemical that can cause inflammation of the vein through which it is given.
If Cisplatin escapes from the vein it can cause tissue damage. The nurse or doctor who gives Cisplatin must be carefully trained.
• Before and/or after the Cisplatin infusion, extra IV fluids are given, care is taken to ensure adequate hydration before, during and after Cisplatin, to protect your kidney function.
• Cisplatin also has been used as an infusion into the abdominal cavity (contains the abdominal organs).
2. Docetaxel: belongs to a class of chemotherapy drugs called plant alkaloids. Plant alkaloids are made from plants. The taxanes are made from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree (taxus). The taxanes are also known as antimicrotubule agents. The plant alkaloids are cell-cycle specific. This means they attack the cells during various phases of division.
Antimicrotubule agents (such as docetaxel), inhibit the microtubule structures within the cell. Microtubules are part of the cell's apparatus for dividing and replicating itself. Inhibition of these structures ultimately results in cell death.
Chemotherapy is most effective at killing cells that are rapidly dividing. Unfortunately, chemotherapy does not know the difference between the cancerous cells and the normal cells. The "normal" cells will grow back and be healthy but in the meantime, side effects occur. The "normal" cells most commonly affected by chemotherapy are the blood cells, the cells in the mouth, stomach and bowel, and the hair follicles; resulting in low blood counts, mouth sores, nausea, diarrhea, and/or hair loss. Different drugs may affect different parts of the body.
3. Fluorouracil: belongs to the category of chemotherapy called antimetabolites. These are very similar to normal substances within the cell. When the cells incorporate these substances into the cellular metabolism, they are unable to divide. Antimetabolites are cell-cycle specific. They attack cells at very specific phases in the cycle. Antimetabolites are classified according to the substances with which they interfere. The ability of chemotherapy to kill cancer cells depends on its ability to halt cell division. Usually, the drugs work by damaging the RNA or DNA that tells the cell how to copy itself in division. If the cells are unable to divide, they die. The faster the cells are dividing, the more likely it is that chemotherapy will kill the cells, causing the tumor to shrink. They also induce cell suicide (self-death or apoptosis).
Nadir: Meaning low point, nadir is the point in time between chemotherapy cycles in which you experience low blood counts.
Onset: 7-10 days
Nadir: 9-14 days
Recovery: 21-28 days
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