Generic Name: cetuximab
Brand Name: Erbitux intravenous
Drug Reviews Drug and Medication User Reviews
Recd Erbitux for the past six months weekly. Also recd paclitaxol and carboplatin. Stopped two weeks ago for a much needed break. And side effects worse. Hair severely thin after one month and very weak with mild face rash etc. Now having cracking around most nail beds on hands only? Ulcers in mouth still bleeding and very painful! Never dreamed stopping drugs chemo.....etc would make me feel worse!
My husband died two weeks ago following a severe allergic reaction which began immediately after the start of his first infusion. Erbitux is known for causing allergic reactions on the first dose, possibly related to a history of tick bites. Read up about this drug before you take it. For those with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer the extra time it buys is something on average of 10 weeks. 10 weeks we didn't get.
This drug needs more testing.My husband had half a treatment when he started itching then could not breathe was taken by anbulance to hospital kept over night. then send home 2 days later had a stroke belived to have been caused by the reaction to this drug. was in hospital for 6 weeks transfered to rehab 2 days later passed away.Was horrible never was allergic to anything. this drug should be removed for now.
I'm taking for mouth/throat cancer. The bad face acne is clearing after 3 wks with hydrocortizone. Cuticle skin is splitting and getting infected, dry skin is tolerable but extremely dry hands. Messing up my mouth badly. Thank God, tho, no nausea or heart side effects, so i rate this well.
Took with alymta, ninth treatment experienced shortness of breath-went to emergecy room- now in hospital and still can't breath-on oxygen and no prognosis if lung damage is permanent-very dangerous with little benefit-i would never had use it if i thought it was so dangserous-i may die soon
In Feb 09 I was DX with colon cancer that masticated to my lungs first and then to liver. I have been treated with various chemo drugs with out much effect. In Jan 2011 I was started on IV Chemo Drug Camptosar IV with Erbitux. I have experienced all the skin rash side effects listed in all the above reviews. However my CAE had been stabilized around 6.6 - 8.7. However, since being on Exbitux my CAE has increased dramatically over the last 4 months from 6.9 to 24.5. So far my Oncologist has not been able to determine why this is happening. Some reviewers above experienced just the opposite effect of Erbitux on their CAE numbers. This has me very concerned.
My husband almost died yesterday from a severe allergic reaction only seconds into his first treatment. After a short ambulance ride from the cancer center to the hospital, he was stabilized in ER & is now in intensive care & feeling better. They are concerned that he might have had heart damage & are currently doing a blood test every 6 hours hoping his level will stabilize or decline. Other than his oral cancer, he has been very healthy with no known allergies or other medical problems. Very scary.
Nearly Killed my mother in law. After 1 treatment she was unable to walk with out assitance,was almost completly unresponsive. She had to be hospitalized for over a week. Please think long and hard about taking this drug. It is not as safe as tylenol as we were told. Its side effects are Not less than you have with tylenol! Do your reaserch as a family and make a well informed decison before taking this drug. Remember the goal is to improve your quailty of life not ruin it!
had drug with radiation. Rash was inside and outside body. Tough to deal with. 2month post, gray eyebrows started growing dark brown and long/narley. mustache hair increased from barely there. 6month post, still have some rash new yet. headaches and mucous (bad smell).
was treated 2 years ago for head & neck cancer. i had a severe reaction to my initial loading dose immediately. after pre medication was able to tolerate the next day. the second try a few weeks ago, i had a more severe reaction even with pre-meds. elevated blood pressure, oxygen saturation bottomed out, heart rate at 136bpm. had to give up on it because of risks.
the rash is unreal
I HAVE HAD THE SKIN RASH MY DOCTOR GAVE MEDS TO PUT ON MY FACE I HAVE DOING THISERBITX FOR 4 MON. IN MARCH I WILL GET ANOTHER PET SCAN I HAD ONE 2MN.S AGO THE DOCTOR COULD NOT BELIVE WHAT WAS SEEIN. SO HE WANTED TO TALK TO MY ENT.IT LOOKS LIKE IT BROK IN 2 PEICES AN GOT SMALLER I HAD CANCER I HAD VOCL CORD CANCER THROAT CANCER HAVE BEEN TO THE FOOT DOCTOR HAD THEM CUT OPEN TO LET THE INFCTION OUT THAT REALLY HURT'I GUESS ITS HOW BAD YOU WANT TO LIVE I ALSO HAVE A TREACHI GUESS I WILL FOR EVER.THE REST OF MY LIFE I GET ERBITX ONCEWEEK SOI DO NO WHAT YOU ARE GOING THEW GET A GOOD DOCTOR ONE THAT CARE MINE IS THE BEST TC
I had severe facial/scalp acne after loading dose and 1st treatment. Onc adjusted dose and that helped a lot. Still have rash on chest & back and some on face/neck, but very tolerable. The extremely dry skin and the splitting of the skin on fingers, toes, feet and legs is less tolerable, but my CEA has dropped in 4 months significantly for the first time in 1.5 yrs. It's worth it for me!
Seems to work at holding cea count from getting higher but not improving the numbers, 4th week on it had the rash issue on face (especialy around the nose,cheek area), head and sholders but this has gotton better with a med(cream)the doctor gave me. Looks like my doctor will continue but don't know where ths is leading right now. I'm stage 4 colon which spread to my liver and lungs and this is what were dealing with now these areas two arears.
I am am Male diagnosed with phase 2 throat cancer in the tonsils. First few weeks on Erbitux were fine and then the acne kicked in. Doctors prescribed minocyline and it mostly cleared up. But by week 4 my gut was unable to take solid foods (lost 40 lbs during treatment) after treatment my gut was still bad and tests showed H.Pylori so this may have been present all along but early treatment would have made my conditions much less severe (Erbitux targets all mucosal cells). If you have stomach problems do not let your doctor ignore them as a course of Losec would likely have kept the H.Pylori and tender stomach at bay long enough to finish treatment. 4 weeks after Erbitux and radition are finished my gut is just starting to accept solids (after treatment for H.Pylori)though my mouth has taken this long to start to heal from the radiation. Still suffering from extreme dry mouth though this from what I was told before treatment is a result of damage to the salivary glands done by the radiation treament. The surface skin on my neck healed in record time likely due to a mixture of skin lotions and one in particular seemed to work wonders (called Natures Aid). I only wish I healed internally as quick! Going for a follow up CAT scan in 3 weeks so keeping my fingers crossed.
There is another drug called Nimotuzumab that does the same thing as Erbitux, but does not cause any rashes or other skin conditions. The drug doesn't have to cause a rash to be effective. Nimo has not yet been approved in U.S. (going thru trials), but was just approved in Mexico. Already approved in India, China, and about 20 other countries. Just search for it on any search engine, you won't have trouble getting more info.
The information above is required, but I have only had 3 treatments and am not sure how effective it is. I have rectal cancer. I have experienced extreme dry skin and acne on my face. Antibiotics and over the counter Proactiv seem to be helping and my face is getting better.
first 8 infusions caused shadowy area on PET that was needle biopsied cancer to disappear. Three months later PET showed hot spot in a different area, on my tongue, and after 7 infusions, the number value went down but it was still present so am taking more treatments.
I have a stage 4 squamous cell sinus tumor. After 3 tx/s of the Erbitux I could see the tumor shrinking. I've had no problems with this drug.
I came out in a severe rash all over my head and face, it felt like a bad sunburn and someone rubbing it with sandpaper all the time, it was very painfull for about 2 weeks, even the pain meds from my doc did not work