Generally, the "standard" first line regimen seems to currently be LV5FU2 (bolus and continuous infusion of 5FU and leucovorin).
Abbreviations: ABVD, doxorubicin/bleomycin/vinblastine/dacarbazine; BEP, bleomycin/etoposide/cisplatin; FOLFIRINOX, leucovorin/5‐fluorouracil/irinotecan/oxaliplatin; FOLFOX, leucovorin/5‐fluorouracil/oxaliplatin.
The standard first-line chemotherapy for all patients is bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (BEP) using a 5-day schedule. Modifications in BEP, such as substitution of cisplatin with carboplatin to reduce toxicity or improve convenience, should be avoided because they may reduce efficacy.
The aim of palliative treatment is to relieve symptoms and improve your quality of life. It can be used at any stage of an illness if there are troubling symptoms, such as pain or sickness. In advanced cancer, palliative treatment might help someone to live longer and more comfortably, even if they cannot be cured.
The Median Duration of Response tells you how long your cancer can be expected to respond to the chemotherapy, before the cancer starts growing again. For most cancers where palliative chemotherapy is used, this number ranges from 3-12 months. The longer the response, the longer you can expect to live.
Many of the same methods that are used to treat cancer, such as medicines and certain treatments, can also be used for palliative therapy to help a patient feel more comfortable. For example, doctors may give chemotherapy or radiation therapy to slow the growth of a tumor that is causing pain.
Your first-line treatment may not work, may start but then stop working, or may cause serious side effects. Your doctor may then suggest a second-line treatment, also called second-line therapy. It is a different treatment that is likely to be effective.
(SEH-kund ... THAYR-uh-pee) Treatment that is given when initial treatment (first-line therapy) doesn't work, or stops working.
For most people the side effects were worst in the first few days after treatment, then they gradually felt better until the next treatment. Some said the effects were worse with each successive treatment. Most side effects don't persist and disappear within a few weeks after the end of treatment.
Medicine for pain in palliative care – an appropriate opioid, for example, morphine, diamorphine, oxycodone or alfentanil. Medicine for breathlessness – midazolam or an opioid. Medicine for anxiety – midazolam. Medicine for delirium or agitation – haloperidol, levomepromazine, midazolam or phenobarbital.
What is palliative care? Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness, such as cancer or heart failure. Patients in palliative care may receive medical care for their symptoms, or palliative care, along with treatment intended to cure their serious illness.
Stage 4: End-of-Life
Typically, you reach this stage when curative treatment is no longer an option and death is imminent. The focus at this point is on managing symptoms, providing support to the patient and their family, and preparing for death.
Doxorubicin is considered one of the strongest chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer ever invented. It can kill cancer cells at every point in their life cycle, and it's used to treat a wide variety of cancers, not just breast cancer. Doxorubicin is also known as “The Red Devil” because it is a clear bright red color.
Around the third day following a chemotherapy treatment, some people may experience flu-like symptoms such as muscle aches and pains. If you experience these aches, you can take over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol or Advil. If necessary, contact your doctor for stronger medication.
Hospice care. You may decide to choose hospice care if you are no longer seeking active treatment for your cancer. Hospice care aims to improve your symptoms and help you feel comfortable in the last months of life.
You can have chemotherapy into the bloodstream through a long flexible plastic tube called a central line. These are called central lines because they end up in a central blood vessel in your chest, close to your heart.
stage 4 – the cancer has spread from where it started to at least 1 other body organ, also known as "secondary" or "metastatic" cancer.
If chemo is not effective, patients may be given radiotherapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapy, or targeted therapy. Radiosurgery, brachytherapy, chemoradiation therapy, etc. are also possible. Most often, the use of chemo does not work if the cancer cells mutate or if the tumour is resistant to the drug.
The effects of chemo are cumulative. They get worse with each cycle. My doctors warned me: Each infusion will get harder. Each cycle, expect to feel weaker.
Maintenance therapy is the ongoing treatment of cancer with medication after the cancer has responded to the first recommended treatment. Maintenance therapy, sometimes called continuous therapy, is used for the following reasons: To prevent the cancer's return.
Palliative care is an interdisciplinary approach to providing relief from physical, emotional, social, and spiritual suffering for patients and their families. The three main forms of palliative care are: symptom management, emotional support and spiritual care.
End of life care should begin when you need it and may last a few days or months, or sometimes more than a year. People in lots of different situations can benefit from end of life care. Some of them may be expected to die within the next few hours or days. Others receive end of life care over many months.
Complications such as jaundice, sepsis or occlusion, often observed during the evolution of digestive cancers, are important reasons for discontinuation and could explain our shorter time from chemotherapy discontinuation to death, compared to other oncology subspecialties.