What are Gemcitabine (Gemzar) Chemotherapies? List from Cancer Survivors

The below is a list that has been posted by the bloggers in this cancer community. There are 7616 cancer fighters that are members here. This is what they said, not what the doctors or nurses will tell you.

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Gemcitabine (Gemzar) Chemotherapy Chemotherapies

What Gemcitabine (Gemzar) Chemotherapy Cancer Survivors said about their Chemotherapies.

Nausea, fatigue/sleepiness, "Chemo brain" (inability to concentrate), dry skin, no nail growth, hair loss. January - May as of now

Chop therapy for 7 months

1991 and 1992 for breast cancer - I would get real tired but no real bad side effects. 2002 for my lungs - I lost all of my hair and nails and was hospitalized several times because of dehydration and other problems.

5/28 first treatment of clinical trial Gemzar with Avastin- was on this treatment for 6 months, it immediately reducedthe tumor on my liver and eventually totally got it. unfortuantely I had to stop Avastin due to high blood pressure and I experienced toxicity in my lungs with the high dose of Gemzar and had to stop. After 6months another liver tumor appeared. Now Phase One trial Irinotecan with PARP inhibitor. So far has shrunk the liver in my tumor in half.

2013-2014: 1st chemo; Taxol, no help. 2nd chemo:Doxil, no help. 3rd and current chemo: Gemzar & Cisplatin. I also get Zometa injection every 4 weeks. I started Chemo on June 19, 2008 and as of today 7/7/08 I have only had 1 treatment. My second treatment is this week on Wednesday, July 9, 2008. I will have 6 chemo treatments, 3 weeks apart. The worst side effect I had was from the Nulasta shot I had the day after chemo. The bone and body aches really kicked my butt. I was fortunate and did not experience any nausea. On day 14 I started loosing my hair. It was coming out by the handfuls!! By day 16 I couldn't stand it anymore so I buzzed it all off.

Taxol/Carbo 12/02-5/03 (with 2 Gemzar treatments) Avastin 8/06- 5/07 Etoposide / Avastin 8/08- Present

Started with nine drops of Taxol and had an allergic reaction that caused me to stop breathing. Then switched to Gemzar and Carboplatin. Had some nausea but started taking Emend....VERY tired.

ABVD- nausea, fatigue, wooziness, thinning hair ICE- nausea, fatigue, wooziness, total hair loss, bleeding gums and mouth sores GND- some fatigue, mouth sores

Taxol sucks!!!!! makes your hair fall out and makes breathing really difficult until i go into an anxiety attack. I dont like taxol

I have had 5FU, Adriamiacin, Taxol, Taxotere, Navalbine, Xeloda, Gemzar, Carboplatin, Abraxane

intraperitoneal taxol and cisplatin, 6 - 10/06 (heinous, too long to describe); HIPeC something-or-other intraoperatively 10/07 (really ghastly); IV carboplatin and gemcytabine, 2 - 5/08 (some hair loss, fatigue); sunitinib clinical trial 2/09 (painful hands and feet, fatigue); doxil, 3/09 (fatigue); taxol and carboplatin 5 - 9/09 (hair loss, fatigue, neuropathy, tinnitus); Avastin 10/09 to present (runny nose)

Chemo once a week from 4/2/10 to 6/01/10: Was tired the next day with small "blah" moments.

Chemo #1 on 4/02/10: I was more tired then usual and had a "blah" moment after going outside for a few minutes.

4 rounds of Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide together every 2 weeks. I am done with those 4 rounds. 4 rounds of Taxol every 2 weeks I have 3 rounds left. Xeloda for a year, Gemzar and carbo still doing it once a month until I guess it stops working.

February 2009: CA125 level was around 3500. She began treatment with Taxol/Carbo with Avastin. Within two weeks, she lost all of her gorgeous red hair. Energy level dropped significantly. She continued having "maintenance" chemo. June 2009: CA125 dropped to 32, and then to 16 later that month. Oncologist decided to stop chemo- as there was no sign of cancer! March 2010: Having chest pain/shortness of breath. CT scan showed fluid in her lungs. Testing after thoracentesis revealed cancerous cells in the fluid. CA125 was back up to 300. It is now referred to as "RECURRENT CANCER" She began chemo again: Cisplatin and Gemzar. Cisplatin was causing tinnitus. Oncologist decided to discontinue to avoid permanent hearing damage. The Gemzar would usually burn during infusion. Side effects: headaches, intense nausea and often uncontrollable vomiting. Drastic decrease in appetite (and weight: about 70lbs) Last time it was checked, her CA12 was hovering around 86. I'm guessing it's currently off the charts.

Numerous chemo's ...dual dense double dosed first time around. knocked me for a loop. didn't understand commercials or anything that was going around me. I was a vegetable.

given up on dates the first time on chemo was 7 months and this time has been 9 months

Gemzar, Taxotere and Xeloda

First treatment was June 8th 7 hours between the other meds olus the chemo..Cisplatin and Gemzar.. Felt ok the day after but then started feeling very sick, achy, headache, ringing in ears, coulnt eat, weak, dizzy,tired,shaky all over I only felt well enough to go to the doctor on the 7th to have my blood drawn..saw dr and he said he would up my steroids next time and that should help second treatment was on the 8th, Just the gemzar.. Really tired and achy. Dizzy and weak. Had my shot of Lewnasta on Monday. Still fell tired and bone pain

2 rounds (5 day hopsitalization each cisplatin and 5FU) mouth sores, some hair loss, changes in taste and smell, weight loss 6 rounds Hepatic artery infusion (oxaliplatin)avastin 3 month Jakafi (oral) unknown trial drug nano cisplatin and gemcitabine

Gemazar.... So far, nausea and weakness

I do not remember all of the names. The chemo was a combination of four different chemo drugs. It did not work. My father experienced nausea and could not taste anything so lost his appetite. He also was very sensitive to temperature. We are still waiting to start a trial chemotherapy drug! Pray, pray, pray!

RCHOP - 6 sessions May - October 2011 Metaxtrate - 3 sessions on my brain May - October 2011 R- ICE - 3 sessions Feb 2012 Mini Beam -2 sessions December 2012 and January 2013 R- GDP -3 sessions March - April 2012 Side effects - My hair fell out 100% not one hair left. Completely bald! A feeling of sickness twenty four hours a day without actually getting physically sick. Tiredness and becoming neutropenic regularly.

Carboplatin started 2007, however I became allergic in 2008, so had to have it changed to Gemzar and Advastin then. Been on and off of chemo since for chronic cancer outbreaks.

June 2012-October 2012; Reported Lethargy, nausea, changes in taste, neuropathy in fingers, weight loss.

Gemcitabine (Gemzar)

Folfox mix of chemotherapy -nausea, vomiting, diahhrea , nil taste I food, shaking, mouth ulcers, dry skin

Folfirinox Jan 2013 - Feb 2013, switched to Abraxane and Gemcitabine March 2013-current

On my third treatment and then will have a week off

Gemcitibine plus Xeloda started March 2010 continuing through August 2010. The disease was in remission until August 2012, when metastases to the lungs was diagnosed, and the cancer progressed to Stage 4. Gemcitibine plus Xeloda followed until a chemo break in May 2013 was prescribed due to indolent nature of lung mets and hand/foot syndrome. With increasing size of lung mets, January 2014 began with chemo consisting of Abraxane plus Gemcitibine again. Metastases to peritoneum diagnosed in September 2015. Progression of metastases in May 2016 led to a determination that gemcitibine-based chemotherapy had ceased to be effective, and a new regimen of Onivyde plus 5-FU with leucovorin commenced. BRCA-1 mutation discovered and so the PARP inhibitor Olaparib was started in early 2017.

6/2011 tiredness, nausea, dizziness

Gemzar started Jan 2014. Once a week for three weeks then one week off for six rounds; liver function elevated and dehydration, fatigue , vision affected .

On my second round of 2 sessions each which are a week apart

R CHOP every 3 weeks from 12/30/2013 through 4/28/2014. Began R GEMOX on 6/19/2014 every 3 weeks through 10/21/2014. Started Rituximab and Treanda on 12/3/2014 as a 2 day course. Severe neuropathy in feet and less but still suffered neuropathy in fingers during R CHOP. R GEMOX caused great discomfort with cold even before therapy was complete. One does of Rituximab and Treanda and my father has terrible oral sores. However, he has been fortunate to never have suffered any severe intestinal discomfort.

Gemzar June, 2014. Nausea, weakness, fever, headache

Rituxan and treanda. Had mixed results. Then R-CHOP, which seemed to increase the cancer. Then R-ICE which then sent me to get an auto transplant. Had a severe reaction to rituxan the first time, then minor reactions every other time. They had to infuse really slow. Added an extra day to my chemos. No other big side effects from the actual chemo except fatigue. Hair loss after the final ICE but was high dose. Also, threw up after the ICE except after the high dose.

Abraxane and Genzar

Extreme fatigue, some dry heaving, hair loss, neutropenia

Initially 2 rounds of Folfirinox, that increased liver enzymes and CA-19-9

Many different times beginning approx 1 year after spleen removal

mid july to November 2015 Gemzar eight treatments, xeloda for 28 days on radiation days. Started Folfox regimen 09/20/2017 for recurrence.

About to start chemotherapy

Extreme fatigue, delerium

Started 12.1t.16

Started Chemo - Gemzar & Xeloda - in November 2016. 6 cycles planned. Side effects pretty mild - some nausea and tiredness

Diarrhea, fatigue, numbness in finger tips and toes

5fu from 11/8/16 until 1/5/17. Five hour infusion then wore a pump home for 48 hours. Was supposed to do 8 cycles but only got to 4 when my white cell count dropped and we had to stop. The side effects of this treatment are horrendous. Pain, nausea/vomiting, fatigue, neuropathy in hands and feet, hair loss, cold sensitivity, shaky hands and lips, constipation, night sweats, mouth sores.

Multiple regimens

Folfirinox 10/17-3/2018; Gemzar 4/18-7/2018; Xeloda 8/18-9/2018

June 2015 until Jan 2016 Second course started Feb 26, 2018 ending May 7 2018

Started July 12. Two weeks on, 1 week off. Plan is 6 cycles. Side Effects - Can’t sleep (steroid pretreatment). Terrible constipation (Nausea meds), Very tired, mild fever, irritability on Day 2-3 post chemo.

4 rounds (8 sessions) as of 7/13/19; serious weight loss and fatigue

3 sessions on Folferinox in September and October 2019. Scan on 17 October showed spread to liver (spots) and tumour growth. Folferinox side effects were fatigue, pain and breathlessness.

Infusion on days 1 and 25. Every other day for 7 weeks oral chemo pills morning and night

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