I finally got started on Bosutinib April 13th. The Dr. told me, but still, the nausea took me by surprise. I was so sick the first day i drank a whole liter of diet seven up and little else. It got some better, but I have to say that I experienced some level of stomach discomfort every day for the first ten days. Then, on the tenth day, I broke out in a full body rash. Hives everywhere except my face, feet and hands.
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| They didn't itch. |
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| Hives everywhere. |
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| My arms were the worst. |
It happened on a weekend, so I kinda just sat around waiting for things to get better. Which they did not. So, Monday morning, I high-tailed it into my pcp who gave me a steroid shot, and a prescription for a prednisone taper. Finally got ahold of both of my oncologists. Regular onc told me to wait for the rash to clear completely, then wait a week, and restart Bosutinib. UCLA onc told me that this "reaction" was not a good sign that I would be able to tolerate Bosutinib for the long run, and told me not to be off of a TKI for more than a week. She has also accelerated my sct/bmt pre-testing, and I'll be squeezing a pulmonary function test, echo-cardiogram, meeting with a social worker, and other various blood tests in - along with my appointment with her on Monday May 15th. The steroids helped clear up the red patches, and within three days they were no longer raised and much less pronounced, so after a four day medication break I restarted the Bosutinib. No recurrence of the hives, and the stomach issues, while still present, appear to be less severe. So far.
It's been another ten days on medication, and the rash has not reappeared. My only fear is that I will not have made very much discernible progress at my May 15th appointment, as I will only have been able to be on Bosutinib for about a month. Beginning to face the reality that a stem cell transplant may be in my future. I've still got hope, but this little episode provided a healthy dose of reality.
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