Mom's in Hospital/question about cisplatin

Lisa13Q

Ok, today was a bad day. Mom had first go round of chemo last tuesday and Wednesday. Taxol Tuesday/ Cisplatin Wed. This only 4 weeks after her surgery. She felt awful. We just figured it was the new chemo. Today she woke up, fell, and fractured her shoulder. Also, according to my sister she was not thinking very well). She's down to 94 pounds They admitted her to Sloane Kettering Hospital today (where she had her surgery). Her potassium and salt were very low and apparently she was VEY de-hydrated. I haven't seen her since I left 10 days ago but my sister says she looks really bad. The doctors say the Cisplatin is the best, but my god, how much can a body take? Anyway, has anyone here taken Cisplatin, and is this a normal course for this awful disease? I will obviously be flying out to NY again Thursday. Feeling terrible for my mother. My sister (Wendy) assures me she will get through this, but omg. I wish we could put her to sleep until she is though it. I don't know that she can make it through the Cisplaton. Hope you are doing well!!!

jean b

Cisplatin
Hi: I just finished 6 rounds of Gemzar and Cisplatin. I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer 10 years ago and this was my 4th recurrence. It was my first time on the Gemzar and Cisplatin. I have never been so sick in my life. I breezed through the other chemos with no problem. This made me nauseated for 6 months. We tried every medication possible but I just had to endure it and get through it. It was brutal. I only hope that my scan in 2 weeks will show that all of this was worth it. Good luck to you and your mom.
God bless you all.

LPack

cisplatin
Lisa,

I have to ditto Jean. I am on Gemzar/Cisplatin and even though this is not a 4th occurence (my 2nd) I am on what Jean is on. It has been much harder on my body then carbo/taxol. And for me, I have only been on schedule twice out of 8. Very hard on my bone marrow.

In His Grip,
Libby

saundra

Lisa13Q
Isn't this your Mom's first chemo or has she had carbo/taxol? Did she drink lots of water? Hard to keep down, I guess if she was nauseated. They can lower the dose and increase the time between doses to make it easier. I would talk to the doctors about the dose, choice of chemo, etc. Maybe this is to toxic for her. My doctor says there is no need to ruin quality of life, when I was sick for 10 days on the combination of doxil and carbo. The first dose after my surgery was the worst one for me too because surgery is so hard on the body. Ask lots of questions of her doc... (((HUGS and PRAYERS))) Saundra

Lisa13Q

saundra said:

Lisa13Q
Isn't this your Mom's first chemo or has she had carbo/taxol? Did she drink lots of water? Hard to keep down, I guess if she was nauseated. They can lower the dose and increase the time between doses to make it easier. I would talk to the doctors about the dose, choice of chemo, etc. Maybe this is to toxic for her. My doctor says there is no need to ruin quality of life, when I was sick for 10 days on the combination of doxil and carbo. The first dose after my surgery was the worst one for me too because surgery is so hard on the body. Ask lots of questions of her doc... (((HUGS and PRAYERS))) Saundra

HI Saundra, hope you're having a good day. This is my mother's 2nd round and type of chemo. She had taxol/avastin before surgery and it worked very well. There were a few spots still left on her bowel after the surgery and they put in a port and decided to do the cisplatin straight into her abdomen. I think that the doctors did not do a great job of forewarning us about how to handle the cisplatin, which really has nasty nasty side effects as I am learning from so many women on this board. Anyway, had they warned us, we could have set up IV infusions immediately for 2 days later and/or had special electrolyte drinks for her. Therefore avoiding this episode. So my sister is pretty peode right now as she really is good at this and would have done it. Anyway, lesson learned for next time. Mom is still in the hospital, which is good. I think getting her fluids and counts up is necessary. I will be flying out to NY tomorrow to take care of her and give my sister a rest. You bring up a great point about quality of life issues. I let my mother lead this fight and she wants this damn cisplatin. So, we'll try again with the new IV infusion protocol. I hope and pray the doctors will stop it if it gets too hard, as my mother will fight and fight and do whatever it takes, even if she is miserable. The research does show, short term quality of life on the cisplatin is terrible, but long term outcomes are better than with other chemos. As with everything in life, always consequences.. Thanks for your support..I'll keep you all posted. At least she's lucid now. I truly appreciate your posts. Thanks, Lisa

kayandok

Lisa,
I'm so sorry for your mom and you!! Having a broken shoulder on top of everything else is so unfortunate!

I had cisplatin/gemzar for 6 cycles ending last June. I have to echo the other ladies in saying it was brutal. I had to stay in the hospital for 4 days for hydration after infusion, I was so sick and none of the anti-nausea or steroids worked. In contrast the carbo/taxol and now doxil seems like a dream.

I would find out if your mom can have carboplatin instead and like Saundra says, over a slower period of time. I hope she recovers quickly and her spirits are boosted by having you there. You are a wonderful daughter!!

Warm hugs,
kathleen:)

Lisa13Q

kayandok said:

Lisa,
I'm so sorry for your mom and you!! Having a broken shoulder on top of everything else is so unfortunate!

I had cisplatin/gemzar for 6 cycles ending last June. I have to echo the other ladies in saying it was brutal. I had to stay in the hospital for 4 days for hydration after infusion, I was so sick and none of the anti-nausea or steroids worked. In contrast the carbo/taxol and now doxil seems like a dream.

I would find out if your mom can have carboplatin instead and like Saundra says, over a slower period of time. I hope she recovers quickly and her spirits are boosted by having you there. You are a wonderful daughter!!

Warm hugs,
kathleen:)

Was it worth it?
yeah, that hydration is a huge issue. I will ask why they want the cisplatin, but it's supposed to be a great drug. basically, was the effect worth the hellish process? Not sure it matters anyway, she's going to go with what the doctors say, but I wonder..

beckyracn

Lisa13Q said:

Was it worth it?
yeah, that hydration is a huge issue. I will ask why they want the cisplatin, but it's supposed to be a great drug. basically, was the effect worth the hellish process? Not sure it matters anyway, she's going to go with what the doctors say, but I wonder..

Lisa,
I am so sorry to hear
Lisa,
I am so sorry to hear your mom is really having a rough time...and to top it all off a broken shoulder? I received 10 rounds of Cisplatin and yes, it was brutal! We tried everything out there and finally came upon a concoction of Reglan & Compazine that helped slightly more than the others. I lost 20#, but was able to keep fluids in. I can remember wishing my labs were off enough to delay the infusion, but alas, they had ways to correct the imbalances and I would end up with the treatment. I also ended up with inner ear damage and PE's two months after the infusions ended. Was it worth it? I'll be one year dancing with NED next month!!!