Herbal Remedies

I have bought my husband alot of herbal powders to help aid him in his
fight for life. He has no other option for this type of cancer as
yet. There have been alot of discoveries for different types of
cancer and as yet there has not been a discovery for renal cancer.
Michael has been on Interferon injections but reacted badly to it. We
have tried Herbal powders, drinks has anyone out there got any
information that they would like to share with me or others

BAY 43-9006 also called Sorafenib has shwn some promise wit kidney
cancers and various others. There are several clinical trials going with
it now. Not sure if it's FDA approved for kidney or enal cancer yet,
perhaps others here may know.

Group: alt.support.cancer Date: Fri, Apr 6, 2007, 1:56pm (EDT-3) From:
mrshea@xtra.co.nz (MUSKA01) wrote:

I have bought my husband alot of herbal powders to help aid him in his
fight for life. He has no other option for this type of cancer as yet.
There have been alot of discoveries for different types of cancer and as
yet there has not been a discovery for renal cancer. Michael has been on
Interferon injections but reacted badly to it. We have tried Herbal
powders, drinks has anyone out there got any information that they would
like to share with me or others

MUSKA01 wrote:

> I have bought my husband alot of herbal powders to help aid him in his
> fight for life. He has no other option for this type of cancer as
> yet. There have been alot of discoveries for different types of
> cancer and as yet there has not been a discovery for renal cancer.
> Michael has been on Interferon injections but reacted badly to it. We
> have tried Herbal powders, drinks has anyone out there got any
> information that they would like to share with me or others

Hello Riana,
We've just had two people report that their loved ones passed away from
renal cancer. One was in the bones and lungs (and perhaps elsewhere). The
other was in the lungs and bones (and perhaps elsewhere). Both had had one
kidney removed, at the beginning. Both tried every possible "new" medicine
(and more) for years and nothing stopped it. If I recall correctly both
tried interferon, and another patient we've not heard from was in clinical
trial for that, all 3 had to abandon because of bad reactions.

The median (time to death) seems to be worse with brain mets and worse for
melanoma, which my cousin had and he lived approximately 7 months after he
had palliative radiotherapy for brain mets.

When was your husband's brain mets diagnosed? and it was (it seems) a
palliative dose of external beam radiotherapy? Perhaps Steph would tell
us a median, so you don't waste your hope and time on searching for
something that does not exist (something that you hope would extend your
husband's life, but won't).
J

Temsirolimus also called (CCI-779) is another drug showing promise in
renal cancers. I realize access to drugs may be somewhat limited in NZ
but if you are in a position to travel and your husband is physically
able. You might consider contacting NCI national cancer institute in
bethesda maryland , johns hopkins or university of maryland, bth are in
Baltimore maryland USA. They have a lot of clinical trials going on
which may give you access to drugs not easily ontained where you are.
They also have free places for cancer patients and caregivers to stay
while being treated. People go there from all over the world. I was
there recently for only about a week but during that short time I met
people from africa and taiwan in the cancer house I was staying in that
were here for clinical trials. Just a thought, I don't know your
situation or your husbands present state so it may or may not be a
possibility. I wish you luck friend.

Jonboy


Group: alt.support.cancer Date: Fri, Apr 6, 2007, 1:56pm (EDT-3) From:
mrshea@xtra.co.nz (MUSKA01) wrote:

I have bought my husband alot of herbal powders to help aid him in his
fight for life. He has no other option for this type of cancer as yet.
There have been alot of discoveries for different types of cancer and as
yet there has not been a discovery for renal cancer. Michael has been on
Interferon injections but reacted badly to it. We have tried Herbal
powders, drinks has anyone out there got any information that they would
like to share with me or others

J W wrote:

> Temsirolimus also called (CCI-779) is another drug showing promise in
> renal cancers. I realize access to drugs may be somewhat limited in NZ
> but if you are in a position to travel and your husband is physically
> able.

NZ has sirolimus for kidney transplant patients, so much have access to
Temsirolimus.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/535654
The investigators initiated a phase 3 study in 626 patients with advanced
renal cell carcinoma who had had no prior systemic therapy. Eligible
patients had at least 3 of 6 factors indicating a poor risk, including the 5
Motzer criteria and at least 1 metastatic site.

The investigators then randomized patients in a 1:1:1 manner to receive
subcutaneous injections of interferon-alfa at a dose of up to 18 MU 3 times
weekly; intravenous temsirolimus at a dose of 25 mg once weekly; or
intravenous temsirolimus at a dose of 15 mg once weekly and subcutaneous
interferon-alfa at a dose of 6 MU 3 times weekly.

The investigators wanted to compare patients' overall survival with
interferon-alfa vs temsirolimus.
Of a total of 626 patients, 442 died during the study period.
Patients in the temsirolimus monotherapy group lived a median of 10.9
months, while those on interferon-alfa lived a median of 7.3 months and
those on combination therapy lived an average of 8.4 months; the latter 2
groups had statistically similar overall survival rates.

The 3 most frequently occurring grade 3 or higher adverse events were as
follows:

* Asthenia, at rates of 27% in the interferon-alfa monotherapy group,
12% in the temsirolimus monotherapy group, and 30% in the combination group.

* Anemia, at rates of 24% in the interferon-alfa monotherapy group, 21%
in the temsirolimus monotherapy group, and 39% in the combination therapy
group.
* Dyspnea, at rates of 8% in the interferon-alfa monotherapy group, 9%
in the temsirolimus monotherapy group, 11% in the combination-therapy group.

For this study on temsirolimus, several questions are worth exploring. If
the drug were used in a population with a better prognosis, would it also be
favorable? Usually, these therapies are more active in more favorable
populations. said Peter Ravdin, MD, who was not involved in the study.
I'd also like to know if temsirolimus has a place in adjuvant chemotherapy
after resection. We don't have anything that's effective at this point."