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Chemo after removal of kidney
Has anyone had experience with chemo after removal of a kidney? They are considering this as an option for Doug. The cancer in the kidney was high grade. His CT scan came back clean on Tuesday. The oncologist and urologist both expressed concern of toxicity from chemo to the remaining kidney. The oncologist mentioned if they go with the chemo, they would monitor his kidney function and stop if it started to go down. It is a little below normal now. Thank you for sharing any of your experiences.
Anita
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Caregiver15 Replies-
Dancing and enjoying life…getting ready for our daughter’s wedding too.
Anita
Forum Moderator
Caregiver
I wish you all the best!!! Attitude is everything in feeling good!! Keep hope alive and enjoy everyday!!
Thank you all for your responses. Doug is opposed to the chemo at this time due to the fact that no cancer was detected in the latest CT scan and all the potential side effects, especially potential damage to the remaining kidney. I’ve got to try to be good with his decision and try to look on the bright side of things.
Anita
Anita
Forum Moderator
Caregiver
This BC drug, approved in May, may not yet be on the radar. One more option. I follow drug approvals on Drugs.com. I have no other info on this drug, ask your doc if it might be an option.
Immune-Based Drug May Help Some With Advanced Bladder Cancer
SUNDAY June 5, 2016, 2016 — Patients with advanced bladder cancer can sometimes be too old or unhealthy to withstand standard chemotherapy. However, some may gain hope from a new drug that unleashes the immune system to attack tumor cells, researchers reported Sunday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Tecentriq from makerl Genentech last month for use in treating bladder cancer for patients who’ve already gone through chemotherapy. It’s the first new medication approved in more than three decades for bladder cancer, Balar said.
His team wanted to see whether the drug might also help patients who’ve never had chemotherapy due to frail health.
Excerpt From: http://WWW.DRUGS.COM or search ” Tecentriq” or “Genentech”
Best, Jack
6/2015 HG Papillary & CIS
3 Years and 30 BCG/BCG+Inf
Tis CIS comes back.
BC clear as of 5/17 !
RCC found in my one & only kidney 10/17
Begin Chemo; Cisplatin and Gemzar
8/18 begin Chemo# 3
Begin year 4 with cis
2/19 Chemo #4
9/19 NED again :)
1/2020 CIS is back
Tried Keytruda, stopped by side effects
Workin on a new plan for 2021
I posted a link to the National Cancer Institute’s summary of current trials on Nivolumab earlier in this thread…here it is again
http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/nivolumab
Sara Anne
Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
Forum Moderator
Spelt Nivolumab. An immunotherapy treatment from Brystal-Myers Squibb also called Opdivo. This product is FDA approved for some lung cancers and some melanomas, it is also doing many clinical trials on other cancers containing PD-1 cells.
HI Anita,
I have been following posts and I am wondering what this “nuvomolab” is? I have not heard of it before and I can’t bring it up by googling it.
Sorry to hear about the situation you are in-kind of feel like “damned if you do and damned if you don’t”. Hopefully the cancer will stay away. I hope it does.
Hi, it is me again. I am glad that you got a second opinion and that they are going to monitor. If there is no sign of cancer in the lymph nodes and no tumors anywhere else then even Nivolumab won’t help. It is an immunotherapy treatment that kills cancer cells rather than healthy cell like chemo therapy. If there is no sign of cancer then the 3 month monitoring sounds logical. The only reason I did chemo after my kidney removal was because some cells lit up on a pet scan which could mean that cancer was still present after surgery. Had the CT and PET scan been clean, my doctors would have just done the monitoring. I would have loved to not have had chemo but there were signs. I have been diagnosed 4 times with cancer and told 3 times that it was gone. The 3rd time, I underwent surgery and they said they got it all and I required no follow-up treatment, just monitoring, I had cancer again within a year, it was everywhere. However, when they said I would need chemo again, my answer was “no way”, I had been blessed with more time, but this cancer was out to get me. That was when my doctor and I found and got the Nivolumab. Things happen for a reason and in their own time. After being diagnosed with metastatic bladder cancer, and having immunotherapy infusions every other week for a year, I am in remission. You have to do what is best for you, but why put your body through chemo if nothing is there?? They won’t even give you Nivolumab unless they can measure the tumor(s).
Just what you need indision. Have you thought of asking for another opinion?
Cynthia Kinsella
T2 g3 CIS 8/04
Clinical Trial
Chemotherapy & Radiation 10/04-12/04
Chemotherapy 3/05-5/05
BCG 9/05-1-06
RC w/umbilical Indiana pouch 5/06
Left Nephrectomy 1/09
President American Bladder Cancer Society
Here’s the answer from the local oncologist that Vanderbilt referred us to: Do no chemo. There is no proof that it increases the life expectancy. Doug is stage 3 because of the size and location of the tumor that was removed with the kidney. Because chemo is hard on the kidneys (and he only has one), the local oncologist is recommending nothing. Just do CT scans every 3 months. Feels like a ticking time bomb. Oh, and the CT scans are hard on the kidney too. I’m not a happy camper. The doctors do not know if Doug’s tumor contains PD-1 cells; I may push them to test to see so we can know if Nuvolomab could be an option.
It is hard to be told no chemo, yes chemo and then no chemo. Does any oncologist REALLY have an answer? We’re listening to the oncologists — it is just very scary what they are telling us.
Anita
Anita
Forum Moderator
Caregiver
Hi Anita, I am sorry about Doug and your situation. I am wishing and praying for it to turn out as good as it can be.
To your question, Sara Ann is right on spot, as always! Only a oncologist together with a urologist with LOTs of experience from MANY cases can tell what will be the best treatment for Doug. They will consider all aspects in Dougs case, and use their experience to decide what will be the very best for Doug. The question is tricky, there are a lot of parameters to consider.
No one here can tell you what will be the best for Doug. You have to trust in his doctors.
Niklas12-12 Diagnosis
13-1 Turb TAG1
13-5 Turb Ta low grade, multiple
13-10 Turb TaG2, multiple
13-11 Mitomycin 8 weeks + 6 month
15-01 Turb
It is very important to listen to your doctor regarding chemotherapy. Only after you have evaluated all the information very carefully and thoroughly discussed this with your doctor should any decisions be made concerning not undergoing the recommended treatment! One patient’s experience may not be at all applicable to another patient.
As for the immunotherapy mentioned by Koolchg (I believe that he is referring to Nivolumab), this is one of several immunotherapy drugs undergoing investigation for a multitude of cancers. There are many reasons why a patient may improve, which may or may not have anything to do with the use of an experimental drug. This is why many clinical trials with many many patients must be conducted before any drug can be considered effective. And these new, powerful agents can have many side effects.
If you are interested, here is the National Cancer Institute’s summary of current work on Nivolumab:
http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/nivolumab
Sara Anne
Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
Forum Moderator
Any treatment will affect the kidney. My creatine stays between 1.0 and 1.5, when it gets to 1.5 , I get the “drink more water”. If the scan is clean, get an PET and MRI to make sure there is no trace. If there is no trace, I would opt out of any chemo. If it is going to come back it will. If you have no trace, immunotherapy could be the treatment of choice after all the trials . However, the tumors have to have PD-1 cells for Nivolumab to maybe work. All treatment has side effects. If you can avoid it, do. I was considered clean after chemo and then diagnosed 3 more times being clean each time afterwards until it matastisized. Please me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for both of your posts, Koolchg! I am going to ask the oncologist about Nuvolamab.
Anita
Forum Moderator
Caregiver
I had chemo and radiation after a kidney removal. They only did follow-up treatment because something lit up on a PET scan. If nothing showed up, I would not have to go through chemo, which was devastating.
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