Jevtana / Cabazitaxel

[MrJack]

I am on my second cycle now with Jevtana / Cabazitaxel, I take a dose every three weeks

my PSA has just gone down from 21 to 6, so Jevtana is working, I hope it works a long time

I only got about seven months of play out of Taxotere , my Onc, says this in the last chemo drug we have to try then it is on to experimental land, oh boy, anyway, I feel pretty good

side effects the same as taxotere , I just try to be happy and enjoy every day I have,

and I do, I enjoy what I can, I will keep fighting on, it sure would be nice to find a cure !

[Dan59]

Mr Jack, That is a great psa response, I hope you get a long time. Thank you for sharing, it is inspiring to know of good response to javanta, and that you are tolerating side effects. I go for my 3rd taxotere next Tuesday. You have a great attitude. I hear you on the cure, that's what I am hangin on for .

[MrJack in reply to Dan59]

yep, thanks

[Gecrellin]

After taxotare and cabazitaxel both stopped being effective I moved on to a combination of docetaxel and Carboplatin, but one of the platinum chemos should be considered for you, I would think. Hope Jetvana works longer for you than it did for me!

[MrJack in reply to Gecrellin]

My HMO say's that they can only give me "standard" treatments.

[Gecrellin in reply to MrJack]

Both my oncologist in Seattle and at Duke called carboplatin standard of care treatments.

[MrJack in reply to Gecrellin]

Never heard of carboplatin, I will have to look into that .

[sweetudog in reply to MrJack]

My husband is on a combination of carboplatin and etoposide and the side effects have been manageable -- better than his experience with taxotere.

[boerma in reply to Gecrellin]

Hello Cecrellin keep us informed about your trip of taxotere with carboplaten I have read somewhere it could become the new standard YT e.h.boerma netherlands

[Gecrellin in reply to boerma]

After jetvana stopped working I enrolled in a clinical trial using the combination of docetaxel plus Carboplatin along with sirolimus which was supposed to reinforce the effectiveness of the chemo drugs. After two cycles on the trial I had scans which showed that mets in my liver had increased although bone and lymph were stable. I was pulled from the trial and stopped the sirolimus but continued with the two chemos more cycles at which point my PSA jumped to nearly 5000, so at the first of the year I switched to BAT. I do know that Carboplatin is also paired with Jetvana, or used alone after other chemos have stopped being effective.

[sweetudog in reply to Gecrellin]

Sorry if this sounds like a silly question, but what is a platinum chemo drug?

[Gecrellin in reply to sweetudog]

Examples are Carboplatin, cisplatin and oxaliplatin all of which have platinum as an ingredient.

[Hidden in reply to sweetudog]

Platinum based chemotherapies work to kill some of the cancer cells that develop characteristics of what are called neuroendocrine cells. These evolved cancer cells are not responsive to hormone deprivation and sometimes they are also resistant to taxanes such as Jevtana or Taxotere. The longer your cancer has been treated with other hormone deprivation therapies, the more likely that these characteristics have developed in the cancer.

[Neal-Snyder]

Mr. Jack & Gecrellin,

Of course we'd all love a cure. But what actually seems to be happening is that the longer we hang on, the more they develop new treatments that give us more time.

I'm not on chemo yet, & I'm curious whether docetaxel + Carboplatin, or the "platinum chemos," are accepted approaches or "experimental land"?

Neal

[Gecrellin in reply to Neal-Snyder]

Together the docetaxel plus carboplatin making be experimental, but carboplatin or other platinum based chemistry are certainly approved by FDA.

[Neal-Snyder in reply to Gecrellin]

Thank you.

Neal

[enzo1]

I'm about at your point: docetaxel 6 times, but now, after 6 months, PSA is rising again. Unfortunately, my blood cells are going down, and we don't know why; if not caused by bones' mets. I have another blood test in a week.

Enzo

[Hidden in reply to enzo1]

Good Luck Enzo.

[paulofaus in reply to enzo1]

Yes good luck enzo. Your comment was a few months ago. How are things with you now?

[enzo1 in reply to paulofaus]

Hi paul I was at the sea, in south Italy, "disconnected". I'm going to have the 4rd cabazitaxel next week. Still It's not clear if it's working. PSA was increasing, last time. They say it's value is not so important at this point of the diesease (?). I hope you're fine ...

[sfboy58]

I completed 2 cycles of cabazitaxel with carboplatin. This is also my last approved FDA treatment. I can't take radium 223 because my hemoglobin is below 10 due to the bone mets. Hope my current treatment works for a while. After one treatment my PSA was stable, but did not go down. Overall I have little side effects and feel good.

[SaratogaNYAnthony in reply to sfboy58]

Hello, with your hemoglobin lower than 10, do you receive blood transfusions?

[sfboy58 in reply to SaratogaNYAnthony]

No, they won't do a blood transfusion unless my hemoglobin goes below 7. Mine is 9.2.

[BillNIttles]

Hey Mr Jac. I'm happy hear about your psa response. Are you on hormone therapy? It is so good to know there are more options.

I finished my 6 months of taxotere in December and I'm feeling better all the time. So far so good, my tumors and psa are undetecable. I sure hope they stay that way. As others have said, the longer we keep living, the more treatments and options we get. Good luck and hang in there!

[Hidden]

Great positive attitude, MRJack -- that's a potent anticancer weapon in its own right.

[BOERNEBUNNY]

My husband had his third treatment with the combination of carboplatin and cabazitaxel. He developed a bladder infection and went to the hospital where he received two pints of blood, bags of fluid and antibiotics. The ER doc said that normally it would not have been a problem but his blood counts were so very low. He also got "Neulasta" types injections in his tummy to bring up the white count. He is in a rehab center because he became so weak he couldn't stand. His next chemo is scheduled for May 19th. He is so strong willed he's working very hard at rehab to get out and get the next treatment. He's a fighter!

[MrJack in reply to BOERNEBUNNY]

yes, he is a fighter.

best wishes to you and your family.

[Jackrow]

Thank you MrJack. I trust the course you outlined will help you. Your post is insightful as I am now up to 7 Chemo treatments., I recently had a 2 month chemo break due to radiation treatment & my PSA increased over that time from a declining 53 back up to 107. My oncologist is uncertain if taxotere will work for me at this point but my blood levels are so low, (transfusions required 5 days after each chemo), doctor has refrained from changing to Jevtana or adding cabazitaxel.

I am stage 4, hormone resistant. Gleason of 7 diagnosed 9/14. ADT still used but ineffective. On second course of chemo- first six chemo treatments were done early 2015 trying to be aggressive.

Have had 2 radiation treatments and failed Zytiga and radium 223.

Pain related issues have been on & off - luckily I am doing ok at this point.

Opiods are so problematic with constipation even with standard anti constipation solutions.

[MrJack in reply to Jackrow]

ok, thanks jackrow, keep up the good fight.

peace to you

jack