Has any other patient on here who is being treated with all or any of the drugs below noticed a change in the amount of wax being produced in their ears? The treatments are: pertuzumab, transtuzumab (Herceptin or Ontruzant), fulvestrant, and biannual denosumab.
My wife has been on this regime now for some time to treat recurring tumours which are oestrogen and HER-2 sensitive. The trastuzumab was originally Herceptin but now for cost reasons has been changed to a biosimilar called Ontruzant. The other drugs have not been substituted at all. During this time of her treatment which amounts to a couple of years or more, she has noticed ever more wax being expressed which causes serious deafness until it is micro-suctioned out. This now has to be no more than four weeks between treatments which are, luckily, carried out by the ENT nurse at the local hospital. The ENT consultant has not seen her since the covid crisis but the nurse has asked but with no real solution beyond trying different ear drops.
I have wondered whether the chemotherapy which she had before any of this prophylactic treatment started might have damaged the ear canal. It's my understanding that the lining of the outer auditory canal grows constantly from within and transports the wax to the outside continually. Cilia (microscopic hairs) are also implicated as I understand it. My wife's hair was, and still is to an extent, affected by the docetaxel infusions as are her nails and skin in general. Therefore it seems credible that any fast-growing cells might have been impaired permanently as well. Any other patients with this experience might have been given effective therapies, if so please let me know as I'm keen to help my wife overcome this most awkward effect. Thanks in anticipation.
