First and LAST Erbitux Treatment

After reaction

Erbitux infusion just started

Well, my first treatment didn't go so well. Brandi took me to my appointment and I had labs drawn and signed consents, listened to the nurse's explanation of what she was going to do and while she mixed the meds Brandi and I got comfortable. 

The nurse's name was Chau and she returned and started my IV. I was first pre-medicated with Benadryl and Zofran. Then, she started the test dose of Erbitux which was 50 mg to infuse over 1 hour. If all went well I would receive the remaining 350 mg over the next hour. About 45 minutes in to the test dose I felt my ears get hot. I asked Brandi if they were red and she said no. I started to itch on my stomach and at the same time I was starting to have a change in mental status. All I wanted to do was lay on the cold floor and I knew that wouldn't go over well so in my mind I knew I needed to get to the bathroom where I could lay on the floor and nobody would notice. I stood up and told Brandi I needed to go to the bathroom and I noticed a different nurse was looking at the IV pump. I asked the nurse if she could unplug it so Brandi could take me to the bathroom. Brandi looked at me, said my ears were now red and asked if I was okay. I was standing up and I told Brandi I couldn't breathe. She told the nurse something was wrong and the next thing I remember was seeing several people around me. I hesitate to tell this part because I don't want to come across as being dramatic but I was looking at myself from the corner of the room. It was strange, I was actually telling myself this is it, this is how you're going to end but it's okay, at least it doesn't hurt. Next thing I remember was hearing someone say my blood pressure was 44/32. Well, being a nurse I knew that was bad news. I was absolutely drenched in sweat. Soon afterwards my oncologist was next to me talking to me about going to the hospital which I told him I didn't want to do. He agreed to keep me there to observe me. They had given me epinephrine, solu-medrol and a liter of fluid. I was pretty out of it but I came around some from the pain I began to feel. It started with my feet, they swelled up instantly and turned bright red. It felt like someone was hitting the bottoms of my feet with a hot baseball bat. The redness and swelling moved up my calves and then my forearms and hands turned red and my hands swelled up. My face also swelled. Chau got some ice packs for my feet and explained that the Erbitux attaches to epithelial cells and that's why I was having these symptoms.

A few hours later I was at my radiation oncologist's office getting molded for my radiation mask. When I originally spoke to Nicki, who molds the radiation masks, she suggested I get something for anxiety from my family doctor prior to the appointment if I ever get claustrophobic. Well, after my experience with the Erbitux I wasn't the least bit scared of having my face covered. It wasn't bad at all. Although I had seen a finished mask I thought the molding would involve rubbing plaster on my face and I pictured straws in my nostrils so I could breathe. But it wasn't like that at all. It was like having a warm wet net wrapped around my face, like some type of facial. It felt pretty good. The only thing that wasn't very comfortable was the block they had me bite, it was like a big hard chunk of plastic. I will have to do that during the radiation treatments to protect my teeth. After Nicki molded the mask the did a scan and marked my mask where they will aim the radiation.

So, no more Erbitux for me. Only 3% of people have a hypersensitivity reaction and I had to be one of them. This means I have IgE antibodies to Erbitux and there is a link between this and tick bites. It is most common in Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and Arkansas. 

The next option the oncologist will try is a traditional chemotherapy drug called Cisplatin. The side effects can be pretty bad. They will have to monitor my kidney function frequently. Since I work in the dialysis field I know this will be my number one concern as I do no want to have kidney damage. I will also have to have my hearing tested before and during treatment as one of the side effects is hearing loss. He also warned my that I will lose my hair and nausea and vomiting is very common. Ugh!!! My first treatment will be next Monday. Afterwards I will go to my first radiation treatment. I will have radiation at 3:30 every day for 30 days. The good thing is that when I get so sick I can't work at least I'll get to sleep in! 

Swollen red feet

Radiation mask molding