Immunotherapy & Chemo

Hi Anonymous123 do you know what the name is of the immunotherapy that your dad will be having? 

Hi 

no we are not sure yet , we are currently waiting for the details of his treatment plan. He has AF and is currently being treated for a blood clot on his heart so I know there will be some treatment that he could not  have. ! 

Hi Anonymous123 

I had immunotherapy for 3 cycles last year. I had it the same time as chemo so was on a mixture of Nivolumab, Carboplatin and Pemetrexed. 

I read about all the side effects too before and worked myself into a right state as you are right, they sound awful! But everyone is different and will handle the drugs differently.

As I was on all 3 its to tell the difference between the side effects but I would say fatigue was probably at the top. It does get worse each cycle though. Other than that I was ok - little nausea, no vomiting. I made sure I isolated when at my most vulnerable although with 3 young children that was difficult! The filgrastim was probably the worst part!

Best thing to do is for your dad to listen to his body - rest when he needs, eat when he can and keep moving when possible.

Hi 

thank you so much for sharing this with me . It is very helpful and good to hear from someone who has had similar treatment to what my dad will be having. I hope you are in good health now . Xx

Hope it all goes well for your Dad. Once you know what the treatment plan is, I’m sure there will be people here to share their experience with you. 

1. Hi there,I was diagnosed with extensive small cell lung cancer last September.I had four rounds of chemo and immunotherapy together,then six rounds of immunotherapy alone.Unfortunatley I had to go back on chemo last week.I found the immunotherapy much easier to cope with and even my hair grew back very quickly.The only real side effects were tiredness and some joint pain which were all manageable.The best piece of advice I can give is not to use Google too much.Macmillan, Roy Castle Lung Support and Cancer Research all provided me with a lot of the answers I was looking for.Take care and hope all goes well with your dad.

Hi, I was diagnosed with lung cancer, had surgery and then underwent Chemotherapy.  I'm now on a year's Immunotherapy , in my experience so far the Chemotherapy left me far more taxed. What I have experienced with Immunotherapy is tiredness and cold but as you say the list of side effects can be endless. You may find that your dad gets on very well with Immunotherapy, the best thought you can have is that this is the best way of teaching your dad's body to fight what it doesn't want.

Thinking good thoughts for you dad.

Hi,

My mum has stage 4 lung cancer and has just had her first cycle of chemo and immunotherapy, the drugs are carboplatin/pemetrexed/pembrolizumab. Her side effects have been flu like symptoms, body aches, sore throat, fatigue, oral thrush which made it hard for her to eat and drink. She also had a lymph node in her neck, which we know is affected by the cancer swell up quite largely, I've taken this as a sign that something is happening in there atleast. We are on day 6 and she is starting to feel abit better. Hope this helps x