My journey with Jevtana

Good luck with the treatment. I have never seen much reporting from the folks on Jevtana, so this indeed will be a much appreciated thread for the patients facing this type of treatment. Thanks. HW family is right beside you on your journey.

Wishing you the best, hope it does the job.

Thanks for the post Rob! I'm not looking at Jevtana as a treatment yet, but I could be down the road, so I really do appreciate you sharing the experience with us all.

Wishing you the best!!!

Hello again ........

   I just realized at least one potential side effect was left off my original thread of two days ago.

Hair Loss ......... of concern to some andnot to others.

Background first:

My hair is quite full for my age.

Zytiga .... 5-months use .... small amount of hair loss in 2012.

Taxotere .... 30-weeks use .... 60% hair lossz over 2012/2013.

Xtandi .... 2-month use .... no noticeable loss in 2013.

Since Jevtana start 5-days ago ...... no noticeable loss yet!

   I will include hair loss in all future updates.

Note: I found it helpful to have my hair cut short - nearly as short as a crew cut - just before the IV chemo start. It helps mentally, to not see huge gobs of hair come out when using a comb or b rush. It's psychological ... and it works!

 

Brief updates & correction .......

What was referred to a Seneca S on the last update may have been incorrect. My notes from the Onco refer to it as Senna S.

Also ... no question now ... nausea does go with this package for me. I did take one small pill yesterday, and the queesy stomach went away - yay!!!

And finally ... diarrea nearly gone the past two days.

Summary ... will try eating more often and smaller quantities ... should help the nausea and maybe the bowel functions. Semi-solid sleeping lately may be either the Lexapro or the Jevtana.

Rob

Peace

 

Rob, you are the answer to my prayer. SpecialLady told me that you had started this thread, and what a relief to know that someone else will be so helpful when my husband starts on his journey with Jevtana. I had started a thread yesterday about "Jevtana - it's side effects and how was it working for U".

As I read all of the possible side effects, I became very concerned, they were many and some severe. Husband went thru 8 sessions of taxotere, hair loss, fatigue (that has been ongoing since start of medications), no nausea, a bout here and there with constipation (used MiraLax, one cap full), taste went awry, kept him on Zofran for possible nausea, didn't wait for the nausea....just a preventive, & of course, hair loss...almost all but not quite.

Bone scan is scheduled for the 24th, with the results given on the 30th when we see the oncologist. If positive more mets, will start him on the Jevtana same day as appointment. CT in September shows "stable" for the lesions on the lungs and kidneys, no growth to see if these lesions are cancerous tumors or not. So we will see what will happen. As U can see by the signature we have been on this "journey" since 1999....long time.
Again, thank you Grizzy'n me (Rob), you are greatly appreciated by myself
and I am sure many other guys who I hate to say it, may be waiting "in the wings" of how your journey goes. Prayers to you for a positive result and slowing up of those side effects.

10/19/2013 update ............

Jevtana treatment #2 given in the morning with:

   Meeting with Oncologist first.

   Blood draws with primary results (see below).

   Nausea preventative (three day) given by IV.

   Xgeva shot (monthly - and it was time for it).

   Flu shot (typical annual).

   Jevtana treatment by IV.

Then a late lunch followed by a 3-hour nap. I was wiped out!!!

BLOOD TEST RESULTS:

Type    10/4/2013    10/18/2013     range given as

WBC         2.0               7.9              4.5 to 10.5

GR#         1.2               5.2               1.4 to 6.5

Hgb         10.8             10.5             11.0 to 18.0

Plt            196              256              150 to 450

   Needless to say, everyone was very happy with the blood test primary results. While the hemoglobin dropped slightly, everything else improved substantially in two weeks without any kind of added meds.

   I asked the nurse what could I eat to naturally raise the Hgb ... she said red meat. It just so happens for the past month or more, I have had nearly no red meat ... so I'll try that maybe 3 times a week. My cholesterol has been fine. 

   My Oncologist was so good with my blood count, he said no need to come in for another blood draw until my next treament in three weeks.

NOTE ...... PSA will be available late next Monday!!! Another wait!!!!!

Side Effects updated thru 10/18/2013:

1) Nausea ... eating every 4 to 5-hours seems to keep it away!

2) Constipation/diarrea cycle ... may have an answer here - see below.

3) Have used Senna Plus ... so far 5-days with normal bowel movemts.

4) Hot flashes ... only one briefly in last 10-days.

5) Hair loss ... minimal but it's still early in treatments.

6) Soreness in upper arms ... Onco was concerned - cancer spread?

7) Onco tested one arm ... said spread is very unlikely.

8) Soreness of arms is much less now - nearly gone.

9) Generally tired - still there most of the time - but not always!

    The Lexapro 20mg will at times help with energy, but that should

    improve in another 2-weeks or so when the full effect is realized.

Summary ....... so far good improvements - per above.

Now ...... the PSA next Monday afternoon.

Peace and wellness

Rob

 

Tednsal ........

   Thanks for your thoughts ... and I am so glad that at least one or two will gain some benefit from this post ... and hopefully myself as well!

   Your concerns about the WBC and other blood count types was my biggest initial concern. My Oncology Nurse Practitioner (who I meet every other time) assurred me that my blood counts on 10/4 were not as bad as it might have seemed. She was right!

   Two weeks later, when I met with my Oncologist and had the basic blood tests, 3 of the 4 primary readings were excellent. As I had been told two weeks prior, the low counts should come up by themselves in the next to weeks or less. If not .... I was going to be given an injection - before the start of the chemo. That is probably what your husband had when he was on taxotere.

   In my case, the blood counts are important for more than the chemo. I have, thanks to the spread of the PCa two+ years ago, kidney problems. I have a nefrostomy tube for my right kidney that needs to be changed every 4 to 5-months. That is not a big deal to change ... it's by Interventional Radiology and is a very quick out-patient procedure I can drive to myself.

   But, my left kidney, which is not very funtional, has a kidney stent. It too needs to be replaced every 4 to 5-months ... and it is relatively minor surgery ... and an unpleasant experience to say the least. That's the procedure where the surgeon and anesthesiologist get very picky with blood count - or they won't perform the surgery.

   By the way ..... sorry that the Provenge did not do your husband much good. It was an option I considered and my Onco advised. I went to another Onco for a second opinion ... and decided to proceed with ther Jevtana instead. My original Onco is monitoring that and is OK with my decision.

   Will submit my current PSA and more SE updates later today or tomorrow.

Peace and wellness

Rob

   

October 22, 2013 update ........

   Received some good news ... finally ... from my Onco Nurse Practitioner late yesterday.

   September 27th baseline PSA before start of Jevtana .... 83.09

   October 18th PSA prior to second Jevtana injection ....... 64.78

   Summary after one Jevtana injection .... PSA down 18.31 or 22%

   A happy camper today!

   Side effect summary:

1) First two days after injection ...... exhausted - much sleep needed.

2) Since ..... better - OK with mostly normal sleep.

3) Just one night up at 3:30am - but back to sleep in an hour.

4) Mild constipation going on - took second Senna last night. 

5) Nausea just once ... and it was mild.

6) Generally, SE's less than first injection and shorter timeframe.

Peace and healing .....

Rob

 

Rob...what great news...bring in the bands, blow up those balloons, throw up some confetti.........a little side effects are okay with me (hopefully for my husband, since I'm not the one having the treatment) if those numbers are going down.

Aren't you also taking a prednisone (corticosteroid), what dosage? Zofran (ondansetron), Compazine (prochlorperazine)?

We will need to change oncologists when we move to the Nashville area (not until the first of the year, I expect), I wonder if anyone out there in "HW" land knows a good oncologist? We are looking for one, out of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, if possible. I checked out one by the name of Kenneth Wyman (Prostate Cancer/Medical), we will use Dr. Joseph Smith as his urologist, just not familiar with any of the medical oncologist's.

Take care, and sleep isn't so bad......

Sally (tednsal)

Hello Cathy ......

   Thanks for your interest ... and I can tell you that my experiences with both Zytiga and Xtandi were disapointedly poor .... gradually increasing PSA with both.

   Taxotere did work for me for the first 8 or 9 treatments - then leveled off by the 10th and last treatment. Since Jevtana is similar to taxotere but seemingly an improvement, I had guarded but high hopes for it.

   A 22% reduction in PSA after three weeks and one treatment is doing maybe even more than I had hoped ....... but, it's only one tratment so far. I will keep this thread updated ... hopefully with good news.

Rob

P.S. Gizzy is my good buddy ... my 32-month old dog I want to spend the rest of my life with.

 

tednsal said...
Rob...what great news...bring in the bands, blow up those balloons, throw up some confetti.........a little side effects are okay with me (hopefully for my husband, since I'm not the one having the treatment) if those numbers are going down.

Aren't you also taking a prednisone (corticosteroid), what dosage? Zofran (ondansetron), Compazine (prochlorperazine)?

We will need to change oncologists when we move to the Nashville area (not until the first of the year, I expect), I wonder if anyone out there in "HW" land knows a good oncologist? We are looking for one, out of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, if possible. I checked out one by the name of Kenneth Wyman (Prostate Cancer/Medical), we will use Dr. Joseph Smith as his urologist, just not familiar with any of the medical oncologist's.

Take care, and sleep isn't so bad......

Sally (tednsal)

Hey Sally - I'll be glad to help with this one! My MO is Dr. Kristin Ancell at Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center. She's part of the prostate cancer team there, and coordinates with my other docs (RO, UO). Email me and we can discuss further.