Had first day of 3rd chemo

Ro10
Ro10 Member Posts: 1,561 Member
Was another long day. We left at 5:15 a.m. for 6:30 lab, 7:30 Dr's appointment and then 9:00a.m. infusion chair. Of course it takes an hour after you are in the chair to get any medications started. We got home about 6:00 p.m. My blood counts remain good, and so do the liver enzymes . The best news though is that the CA 125 dropped from 2560 to 969. That means that the Cisplatin/Taxol are still working for me. That is a very good thing. All of your prayers are working. Thank you so much.

I will need to continue the daily blood thinner shots as long as I am on Chemo. The cancer is causing the clots, but they do not know why. I may be able to go on the pills after I finish chemo, but Coumadin does not always prevent clots in people with cancer. And my cancer will not really be gone. So that will be a decision to be made later.

The current treatment of chemo every 3 weeks will continue until the cancer marker stabilizes and then I will get a chemo break. Or if the cancer marker goes up I will need different chemo drugs. Since we are returning to IL the first part of April, I asked this doctor which drugs he would recommend. He said probably Avastin, possibly taxotern, but sine I was already on Taxol he was not sure if that would work, and Cytoxan(a pill). Linda was on cytoxan for a while. He said that Doxil had finally gotten approval for uterine cancer, but there is a shortage now and no new people can go on Doxil, only those that were previously gotten the drug. He thought the shortage would be over in 6 months, so maybe that could be a possibility. He said Adriamycin would be the alternative, but has many side effects. I hope we do not have to cross that bridge for awhile.

I have my fourth chemo set up in IL for April 12, 13. I hope I can be done with chemo by June and enjoy the rest of the summer. Of course no one has told me this.....it is only my hope.

The second round of chemo was much better than the first with much less nausea. I used compazine rather than Zofran. I did have a cough and used 3 boxes of kleenex , but those symptoms are much better now. Don't know if my tiredness was from the chemo or the cough but I hope that is better this time around. Food did not any taste for two weeks, but no taste is better than metallic taste. So it will be interesting to see what happens this time around.

I asked about my samples being saved from my original surgery 1/09, and the doctor said he was not sure, he would have to check. I thought all the tumors and lymph nodes would be saved for studies. But he said since I have had several rounds of chemo done the cancer is different from what it was then, so doing tests on them would probably not be beneficial. He did not seem to think that these testing on tumors was really reliable. He said you could test the same tumor in six different places and get 6 different results on which drugs would best. He kept saying there are companies that do these testing, but did not think they were always reliable.

I also asked about follow-up on my blood clots, and he said I did not need any further scans unless I had some problems. He said further testing is not routinely done. He said the blood thinner shots work for some people, but not always. Not really what I wanted to hear. The thought of having a stroke really does scare me. I have put my husband through so much, and he has been a great support. But I sure would not want to burden him with that. My husband is not a morning person, so to get up at 4:30 shows me how much he loves me.

We got tomorrow for day 2 which will be a little shorter day since we do not have to be there until 8:30. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, they are much appreciate. In peace and caring.

Comments

  • daisy366
    daisy366 Member Posts: 1,458 Member
    Ro
    I think your attitude is amazing. You always see the bright side of things - even the blessing of no taste over metallic taste.

    Thanks for all the info. Again, a crap shoot. That testing I had may not even be reliable but it's something - maybe a bone to throw me. But we march on like we must.

    Wonderful drop in CA125!! I hope your treatments continue to go well and that you enjoy a wonderful summer with your beautiful flowers. You must be chomping at the bit to get up there. I hope the nice weather is there to greet you soon.

    Much love and continuing prayers, Mary Ann
  • pakb56
    pakb56 Member Posts: 141
    Glad to hear
    Glad to hear this round is going well for you. I had a cold and now the residual cough. We aren't going through enough and have to be burdened by this as well?
  • snowbird_11
    snowbird_11 Member Posts: 160
    Wow, Ro, these chemo
    Wow, Ro, these chemo treatments are quite an event - just hearing your schedule is tiring to me. All this and your blood counts continue to do well - you are a very strong person indeed! That CA125 drop is great, let it continue so you can enjoy the upcoming summer. I had asked my gyn-onc about testing and got essentially the same answer. He thought if they got anything right it was what would not work, hit-or-miss with what would.

    I hope today is smooth sailing for you and no metal-mouth to follow!
    Annie
  • CindyGSD
    CindyGSD Member Posts: 190
    Hi Ro...
    So happy that your CA numbers have dropped. Your goal of being done with chemo by June seems completely reasonable. Everything sounds like its going according to plan and I know from experience that that is a huge stress reliever. I'm so happy you did not have to suffer through nausea like you did last time. Wasn't it like 10 days of feeling ill? How awful. Fingers crossed for you that this round of chemo will be better than the last just like the last one was better than the first one.

    Take care,
    Cindy
  • cheerful
    cheerful Member Posts: 261 Member
    Hi Ro:
    I am glad to hear

    Hi Ro:

    I am glad to hear that you are coming along and doing better. I will continue to pray for you going through chemo. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

    Cheerful
  • Ro10
    Ro10 Member Posts: 1,561 Member
    cheerful said:

    Hi Ro:
    I am glad to hear

    Hi Ro:

    I am glad to hear that you are coming along and doing better. I will continue to pray for you going through chemo. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

    Cheerful

    Thanks for the encouragement
    I appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and comments. Day 2 was long but uneventful. We left home at 7:15 and got home about 4:30. That was just to get the taxol. But I would rather have a long day with no reactions. Yesterday I woke with nausea, but after I took the emend and decadron it was better. Today I woke with no nausea, so I think it should be a good day, today again.

    We have had great weather here with temps in the 80's. Back in Illinois it has been great weather, too, so anxious to get back there and see what the gardens are doing. Hope everyone is having a good weekend. In peace and caring.
  • Fayard
    Fayard Member Posts: 438 Member
    Ro
    I am very glad the treatment is working for you.
    You are a warrior!

    Know that you are in my prayers. :)
  • LizGrrr
    LizGrrr Member Posts: 127 Member
    Ro10 said:

    Thanks for the encouragement
    I appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and comments. Day 2 was long but uneventful. We left home at 7:15 and got home about 4:30. That was just to get the taxol. But I would rather have a long day with no reactions. Yesterday I woke with nausea, but after I took the emend and decadron it was better. Today I woke with no nausea, so I think it should be a good day, today again.

    We have had great weather here with temps in the 80's. Back in Illinois it has been great weather, too, so anxious to get back there and see what the gardens are doing. Hope everyone is having a good weekend. In peace and caring.

    You go, girl!
    Your positive outlook is an inspiration! Glad to hear you're doing well all things considered. Keep up the good work :)

    Liz in Dallas
  • Double Whammy
    Double Whammy Member Posts: 2,832 Member
    Fayard said:

    Ro
    I am very glad the treatment is working for you.
    You are a warrior!

    Know that you are in my prayers. :)

    Thanks for the update
    I remember how much you dreaded chemo again and I'm so pleased that it's going as well as it is. (I didn't say it's going well, just AS well). It also sounds like it's doing its job which makes it worthwhile.
    Best wishes,
    Suzanne
  • HellieC
    HellieC Member Posts: 524 Member
    Ro10 said:

    Thanks for the encouragement
    I appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and comments. Day 2 was long but uneventful. We left home at 7:15 and got home about 4:30. That was just to get the taxol. But I would rather have a long day with no reactions. Yesterday I woke with nausea, but after I took the emend and decadron it was better. Today I woke with no nausea, so I think it should be a good day, today again.

    We have had great weather here with temps in the 80's. Back in Illinois it has been great weather, too, so anxious to get back there and see what the gardens are doing. Hope everyone is having a good weekend. In peace and caring.

    Keep those numbers coming down, Ro!
    So pleased to hear that the chemo combo is still working for you, Ro. You are such a trouper! Sorry not have posted earlier but I've been on my travels visting family (sadly for a funeral) and then a few days with my Dad with no internet access. But back home now and keeping an eye on what everyone here has been up to!
    Helen
  • carolenk
    carolenk Member Posts: 907 Member

    Thanks for the update
    I remember how much you dreaded chemo again and I'm so pleased that it's going as well as it is. (I didn't say it's going well, just AS well). It also sounds like it's doing its job which makes it worthwhile.
    Best wishes,
    Suzanne

    Glad to hear your update,
    Glad to hear your update, Ro. Have you seen the evidence on heparin & decreased cancer metastasis? There is an "off label" benefit to being on a blood thinner when you are a cancer survivor. Even aspirin has it's off label benefits for cancer survivors.

    Try to put thoughts about having a stroke to the back of your mind. The people who still have clots while on heparin could possibly be eating an inflammatory diet or have a hereditary clotting disorder.