Emotional Support for Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Patients
Managing Rash and Other Most Serious Common Side Effects
Learn how to manage rash and diarrhea, two common side effects
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Understanding feelings and emotions
When you have advanced or metastatic cancer, it can be a very emotional time for you and your family and friends. Emotions can include fear, anger, sadness, and grief.
Here are some tips to help you and your care partner deal with the emotional challenges you may be facing:
- Ask for support from those around you.
- Maintain your daily routine as much as possible.
- Try to stay active, eat healthy foods, and get enough sleep.
- Learn how to manage your stress.
Getting support
Many resources are available for you and your family and friends. Having this support can help all of you to cope with the disease. You may want to consider doing some of these things:
Discuss your fears and concerns. If you are feeling sad or anxious, tell someone about it. Depression and anxiety are very common in people with cancer and may need to be treated. Your healthcare professional (HCP) may be able to help. Or, he or she may refer you to other healthcare professionals in your area who can help.
Join a support group. Talking with other people who have cancer can help you learn how they are managing challenges. It is also an opportunity to support each other.
Keep a journal. Writing about your feelings, emotions, and frustrations can help you cope. It can also help to make a list of the questions you have for your HCP.
Seek support. Talk with your minister, rabbi, or other religious leader. Trained counselors and hospital chaplains can also offer support.
Your family, friends, and others on your support team can help you cope with your disease and treatment. Do not hesitate to ask them to:
- Go with you to your doctor appointments. They can write down what the doctor tells you during your visits. They can also help you put together a list of questions beforehand to discuss with your doctor during the next appointment.
- Help you keep track of and report any side effects you may be experiencing to your doctor. Sometimes, they may notice little changes in your health that you may not even have noticed yourself.
- Run errands for you. Use your energy wisely; let others help you with your day-to-day activities.
- Keep others up-to-date on your health either by phone, group email, or with family meetings.
- Listen to you when you feel like talking about your disease.
- Join a support group with you to listen and share experiences with others.
- Help with insurance issues that may come up. For more information, visit our Coverage and Reimbursement Support section.
- Join you in a shared pastime. Whether you both play a mean hand of gin rummy or relish the strategy of chess, spend time together enjoying each other's company.
- Take care of themselves so they can be helpful when you need them.
Emotional support from your family and friends can help make living with pancreatic cancer a little easier. See Care Partner Support for more information on how your care partner can help you.
Tarceva in combination with gemcitabine is prescribed for patients with advanced-stage pancreatic cancer whose cancer has spread, grown, or cannot be surgically removed, and who have not received previous chemotherapy.
There have been reports of serious events involving the lungs in a small number of patients taking Tarceva. These events have included death in some patients. The medical name for these types of events is interstitial (in-tur-STISH-ul) lung disease-like events (or ILD-like events).
Liver and/or kidney problems (including deaths) have been reported in some patient taking Tarceva. Let your healthcare provider (HCP) know if you have a history of liver or kidney disease.
Some patients taking Tarceva have developed a hole in the lining of their stomach or intestines (including deaths). It may happen more in patients who are taking certain other medicines or who have certain stomach and intestinal diseases.
Some patients taking Tarceva have developed serious skin conditions. Some patients have died from these conditions.
Patients taking Tarceva plus gemcitabine were more likely to experience bleeding and clotting problems such as heart attack or stroke.
Some patients taking Tarceva have developed eye irritation and damage to the cornea. The cornea is the clear part of the eyeball that covers the colored part of the eye and the pupil. Other eye problems such as abnormal eyelash growth, dry eyes, or changes in eyesight have also been reported.
Patients should tell their HCP about eye problems that get worse. Including eye pain.
Women should not become pregnant while on treatment with Tarceva. If you are already pregnant or become pregnant while taking Tarceva, you should talk with your HCP about the benefits and risks of continuing to take Tarceva.
DO NOT breast-feed while receiving treatment with Tarceva.
Call your HCP right away if you have these signs or symptoms:
- New or worsening skin rash
- Serious or ongoing diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite, or vomiting
- New or worsening shortness of breath or cough
- Eye irritation
Some patients taking Tarceva have experienced difficulty with blood clotting, and bleeding events, including gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal bleeding. Patients taking blood thinners (Coumadin®, warfarin or other coumarin-derivatives) should be monitored regularly.
Certain medicines and herbal supplements can affect how Tarceva works for in the body. It is important that you tell your HCP about all of the medicines and herbal supplements you are taking. DO NOT start taking any new medicines or herbal supplements before talking with your HCP. Tarceva may also affect other medications you are taking.
In addition, grapefruit and grapefruit juice have an effect on how Tarceva works. DO NOT eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice while on treatment with Tarceva, except under the care of your HCP.
Smoking may affect how well Tarceva works for you. If you smoke, you should stop smoking before starting treatment with Tarceva. Talk with your HCP about how to quit smoking. If you continue to smoke, you should talk with your HCP before taking Tarceva.
The most common side effects in patients who took Tarceva plus gemcitabine were fatigue “feeling tired”, rash, nausea, loss of appetite, and diarrhea. Other skin changes may also be seen.
The rash from Tarceva plus gemcitabine therapy may appear on your upper body or face. Typically rash occurs within 10 days of starting treatment, but it may occur any time during treatment.
The rash is not an allergic reaction. It may look like acne or dry skin. It is not acne. Talk to your HCP if a rash occurs.
Typically, diarrhea may develop within 15 days of starting Tarceva plus gemcitabine therapy.
Hair and nail changes have been seen with Tarceva.
Always let your HCP know if you have any side effects, and ask about the best way to handle them.
Tarceva is not right for everyone. Ask your HCP if once-daily Tarceva is right for you.
