Has anyone had chemo treatment of cisplatin and ifosfamide??

wingsoflight

Please, if anyone knows anyone who has had treatment with cisplatin and ifosfamide,
I would really like to hear from them. It seems tougher then most, I am supposed to be in the hospital for four to five days every time they administer it because of nausea, toxic effects, and possible "disorientation"!! I was diagnosed with malignant mixed mullerian tumor , underwent full hysterectomy, lymph nodes were clear, but a few "small spots" were found outside. This is the chemo treatment recommended, probably followed up with radiation. They say you have to fight fire with fire, but I'm not looking forward to this and am trying to do all the research I can. Thank you so much, any one who has anything to share! Wingsoflight

Jolie_W

Wingsoflight
Hi - my name is Robyn and I live in Brisbane, Australia. I was diagnosed in January with a rare form of tumour - Granulosa Cell Tumour. I underwent an initial laparoscopy at which time a biopsy was taken. About a week or so later I underwent a laparotomy. During this op, it was discovered that my tumour (which was about the size of a small handbag in my stomach, with smaller tumours on my liver and spleen) was too "angry" and "large" to be touched. My surgeon said I would have bled to death on the table had he attempted to remove it at that stage - also my heart decided to play up. Therefore they closed me up pronto and then decided to put me on to chemo in an attempt to shrink the tumours.
I underwent four (I think) rounds of three week lots - they gave me Cisplatin, Bleomycin and the third one was Etoposide. As a result of the Cisplatin, I found my hearing became diminished over time - almost as though I was at times "underwater" and had a ringing in my ears like Tinitus. Please do not worry about this though, as I finished my last chemo in early June and whilst I still have ringing in my ears (you really get used to it, and I'm told it will eventually go), I have found that my hearing is a lot better and improving all the time. As far as the Bleomycin is concerned, I am a bit disturbed to know that I cannot have pure oxygen given to me for the rest of my life - as I could develop fibrosis of the lungs. I do believe that in an emergency situation I could have a little though, and I can still have what they call here "hospital air" - a combination. I now wear a medical alert bracelet at all times.
Eventually, this combination of chemo did its job and the tumour shrank and I underwent another laparotomy with really good success. For good measure, I then underwent another two rounds (3 weekly ones) of chemo. I was given 3 different types of drugs, one of which was Ifosfomide (sorry if incorrectly spelt). This was given in the hope of rounding up any rogue cancer cells. On 2 July I had a follow up CT scan which indicated the all clear. I never know if this will come back to haunt me, however the doctors, who had initially given me 6 months to go, were absolutely delighted with my outcome.
The first round of chemo made me very sick - I lost 20kg but when I knew the tumour was shrinking I felt all the sickness was worth it. After my tumour was removed and underwent the second round, as the doctor predicted, I was not near as sick and managed reasonably well. I lost my hair in the first round, as the doctor predicted, exactly two and half weeks into treatment. My hair, as the doctor predicted, has started to regrow exactly six weeks after the cessation of chemo. I love my doctor - he is so smart and I felt very safe with him. I hope your treatment goes well and you don't get as sick as I did. Some people don't seem to get as sick as others. The doctors and nurses both told me that chemo has made some wonderful strides in the past few years and they certainly were right in my case. I am so thankful for my treatment. Good luck!!

Peg Sue T

Chemo
I had the cistplatin chemo. It is tougher than most. It is good that they are giving you more than this drug. This drug was not effective on my cancer (vaginal). I now have to go threw another round of different chemo and trial. All three chemos at one time.

5kids4us

Another MMMT
My MIL was diagnosed with Stage IV MMMT July 29. She is being given the same chemo treatment as you. She just had her first round last week. She has been very tired,, hard to keep anything down, had to get IV due to dehydration, and it seems the worst is yet to come. As crazy as it seems, looking at the date of your post, I'm hoping you'll be able to give us some perspective of what to expect. Also, have you joined the online yahoo group? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UterineMMMT/
My MIL is being treated at Mayo in Phoenix, AZ.

Thanks, Jennifer

Shiba

wingsoflight reply
I had cisplatin. 6 sessions. They say It doesn't make you lose your hair or taste buds and I didn't lose either. i don't know about the other thing you listed though. One month after the treatments with radiation combined, i got arthritis bad in my hands and feet. I couldn't squeeze soap out of a bottle or hold open a big text book. I tried acupuncture and it didn't help all that much. After around 6 months the pain finally disappeared. i still have lower back arthritis but I had that before treatments. The doctor claims it wasn't from the chemo though. Yeah right lol. My primary doctor tells me that I probably had arthritis prior and the chemo made it get worse. He says that when i age it will probably come back. Also I got ADD really bad after. I still suffer from it. I realized that I always had it and didn't know it till it got worse after the chemo. Thats about it. The radiation to the ab area was worse. Constant runs to the bathroom sometimes every 3 minutes for an hour. I got confused at first thinking it was the chemo making me do that and it was the radiation. I used to have fun getting chemo. They had cute male aids serving me drinks and snacks. The steroids they pumped me up full of with chemo got me high in a good way, I was eating while getting the chemo. It didn't change my food cravings in the least. Well thats all I can remember. Good luck.