chemotherapy

Rough Road

Cleo,

I'm sorry you are having a rougher time with the later infusions. While I did a different combination therapy for HL (I received R-ABVD), chemos have commonalities: Usually side-effects intensify with later doses. Your weakness and lack of apperite are quite common, essentially the norm.

Doctors and research scientist prescribe recommended dosing based on many factors, such as the strain of the disease, its Staging, various lab results from the patient (some blood test values tell doctors the disease is likely to be easier or harder to cure with the meds), and other particulars.    Almost always it is expected and hoped that the drugs will have killed all detectable cancer before the last infusion is given; "detectable" nmans anything that is observable on PET or CT scans, of course.  Subsequent doses are to ensure that any remaining, undetectable cells are killed also.  I'm sure your doctor feels it highly advisable that you finish the remaining doses, but by all means do call and ask him or her what you have asked us.  Ordinarily treatment is stopped if it is not working, rather than when it is working.

I lost all sense of taste at about the two month point of my six months of treatment. Many people describe what it called "metal mouth," but I did not have a metallic taste, but rather felt my mouth was full of salt all the time.  I asked the doc about this, and he said that the drug could cause any sort of taste, but a metallic one was most common. -- hence the name "metal mouth."  Throughout the remainder of treatment I could not usually taste anything at all.  I had brief, occasional episodes regarding weird taste sensations: I recall drinking a clean glsass of tap water, and my mouth felt like it was full of mud .  Thankful, that did not reoccur.  It was over five years ago when treatment ended for me, but I regained my sense of taste within a month or so after the last treatment; it returned to normal.  I also had no appetite and lost over 15% of my bodyweight on chemo, and was living mostly on Ensure type drinks toward the end.   Note that my treatments involved no form of steroid (no Perdnisone or similiar drugs). Three of the drugs in ABVD routinely cause taste abnormalities. Two of these drugs are also in CHOP, so both of these combos commonly have taste alterations.  Vincristine and vinblastine are two that very commonly cause taste problems.  Rituxan does not list taste disturbances as a common side-effect, and I am unfamiliar with your other drug, but will link it below.

Like hair loss, normal sense of taste is one of the side-effects of chemo that almost always returns to normal after treatment is over, so whenever yuo finish, you should anticipate normal taste returning after weeks or perhaps a bit longer. Side effects that commonly linger a bit longer are fatigue, and neuropathy (numb hands and feet), and confusion or memory loss, if you have them.

Info regarding chemo and taste changes:   http://chemocare.com/chemotherapy/side-effects/taste-changes.aspx

Treanda:   http://www.chemocare.com/chemotherapy/drug-info/Treanda.aspx

I wish you well in all of this, and know you will make the right decision for yourself, whatever you decide,

max

Keep going...

Dear Cleo...keep going! While you are going through the treatments it consumes every moment of your life and it is. So hard to be leave you will feel better again! I had days I swore I would die from the chemo..It is past me now, I  did it and so can you...we have to know we did we all we could to win this battle...fight for yourself, your family and that next long bike ride your going to take!