It is very common, men with advanced prostate cancer find that they are subject to confusion and memory loss; they experience a general dumbing down of their brain facilities. The most common culprits causing this are hormone therapy (ADT) and chemotherapy treatments. At this time we don’t have any great magic bullets to treat this [...]
One of the more common side effects of chemotherapy is anemia, or the lack of hemoglobin (red blood cells). Severe anemia is dangerous and will require the suspension of the use of chemotherapy as well as immediate treatment. In light of this the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required that Amgen Inc. developed [...]
According to researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in the Sept. 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research, taxne-based chemotherapy drugs are not well understood as they may be more powerful than many have believed. Generally, it is believed that taxane chemotherapy (paclitaxel, docetaxel and cabazitaxel) just stop a cancer cell from dividing -- but [...]
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center along with Danish researchers have announced the development of a novel, investigational anticancer drug (G202) that has been described as a molecular grenade that targets cancer cells. The drug is able to travel undetected by normal cells through the bloodstream until it is activated by a specific cancer proteins, then [...]
In a study presented at ASCO, researchers found that the drug duloxetine (Cymbalta) can help to treat peripheral neuropathy, a painful side effect of chemotherapy using taxanes. Taxotere, the chemotherapy drug used to treat castrate resistant, advanced prostate cancer is a taxane. Peripheral neuropathy occurs when nerves in the body's peripheral nervous system (outside the [...]
Curcumin is thought to have anti-cancer activity as well as to provide a synergistic effect with chemotherapy agents. Because of this Dr. Eloise Planchat of the Centre Jean Perrin, Division de Recherche Clinique, EA4231, Université d’Auvergne shared results from a prospective phase II study that assessed the impact of the combination of docetaxel (chemotherapy) plus [...]
One of the common side effects reported from chemotherapy with Taxotere is neuropathy. In the trial used to receive FDA approval, TAX 327 which had 332 patients. In that trial the following percentage of men reported incidents of neuropathy: Neuropathy Sensory- Nerve damage causing tingling or pain, usually in feet or hands: Any Grade- 30.4% [...]
Neulasta (Pegfilgrastim) is used to reduce the chance of infection in people who have certain cancers and are also receiving chemotherapy medications, including taxotere for men being treated for advanced prostate cancer. Chemotherapy is designed to kill fast growing cells. However, it can’t tell the difference between cancer cells and fast-growing healthy cells, including red [...]
At the recent 2011 Prostate Cancer Research Institute Dr. Mark Scholz discussed care issues for men with advanced metastatic prostate cancer. In his presentation he stressed the importance of closely monitoring each man’s individual, on-going response to treatment to determine its effectiveness. He made a case that without close monitoring; treatment decisions would lag behind [...]
From the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Watch out for fever. If you get a fever during your chemotherapy treatment, it’s a medical emergency. […]
