CDK4/6 inhibitors, such as palbociclib (brand name Ibrance®), ribociclib (brand name Kisqali®) and abemaciclib (brand name Verzenio®) are important medicines for treating advanced HR+/HER2- breast cancer, but they can have significant side effects that impact on your quality of life. Neutropenia (low white blood cell count), nausea and diarrhoea are common side effects which are usually managed by adjusting doses and using anti-nausea and anti-diarrhoea medicines.
At the recent Breast Cancer Trials Annual Scientific Meeting in Hobart, Australian oncologist Professor Fran Boyle spoke about managing these side effects, particularly diarrhoea. She said that she has found that it’s OK to reduce the dose of CDK4/6 inhibitor if diarrhoea is problematic.
Professor Boyle noted that even ‘Grade 1’ diarrhoea means going five times per day, which seriously interferes with normal life for anyone not staying at home all day.
To help with this, she recommends the Flush Toilet Finder app which helps users locate nearby public toilets (anywhere in the world) using their phone's GPS. It displays the closest toilets, including information on whether they have disabled access, require a fee, or need a key. The app also allows users to add new toilets to the database and provides directions to the selected toilet. To download it for free, go to your phone’s app store and search for Flush Toilet Finder.
BCAC’s Louise Malone tried it while in Tasmania and found that it worked there! It also shows lots of public loos here in New Zealand.
6 August 2025
