Doxil out

catcan
catcan Member Posts: 119
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
Hi Everyone,

Spent a night in the hospital with severe pain after trying to eat lunch. The cancer has spread to an area on my left side and if I eat or drink too fast it causes the cancer cells to press on the abdomenor vice versa. I was told by the ER Dr that I could stay in the hospital where they could make me comfortable or go home with a prescription. I honestly thought it was the end. My oncologist was on vacation so his partner checked in the next day and I said so I should just give up nothing we can do and he looks up and said "WHAT" I said the other doctor made it sound like the fight was over. He let me know we have other things to use and that the ER doctor has no history to go by and they aren't used to dealing with stae 4 cancer patients daily. I can tell you I feel a lot better and ready for the battle ahead. We are giving up on Doxil as my count is back to 2000 and either going to Evastin depending on the findings being published or Tamoxifen. I know Evastin is very expensive so depends on the insurance co but what about Tamoxifen any one been on it? Would like to hear from you

Thanks

Cat

Comments

  • Lisa13Q
    Lisa13Q Member Posts: 677
    #2
    HI Cat
    So sorry you had such an insensitive doctor at first. Never give up. Hope you feel better real soon. I am going to do some homework on the Avastin. What about Gemzar?
  • catcan
    catcan Member Posts: 119
    #3
    Lisa13Q said:

    HI Cat
    So sorry you had such an insensitive doctor at first. Never give up. Hope you feel better real soon. I am going to do some homework on the Avastin. What about Gemzar?

    Hi Lisa
    Not sure about Gemzar he is leaning toward the Tomaxafen. I can tell you I won't miss the mouth sores from the Doxil. I was actually able to eat real food today
  • lindaprocopio
    lindaprocopio Member Posts: 1,980 Member
    #4
    catcan said:

    Hi Lisa
    Not sure about Gemzar he is leaning toward the Tomaxafen. I can tell you I won't miss the mouth sores from the Doxil. I was actually able to eat real food today

    Do you know if you are ER+ or PR+ ?
    Tamoxifen works best for women whose cancers are estrogen and/or progesterone positive. If you are ER+ or PR+, it may be worth a shot. Apparently it's an easy chemo-alternative, a pill you take yourself, with very few side effects. It is used in combination with megace for ER+ / PR+ recurrent endometrial cancers, but is best known as a maintenance drug for breast cancer patients in complete remission.
  • Barbara53
    Barbara53 Member Posts: 652
    #5
    tamoxifen report
    Cat, Well damn. Hope you're feeling better today. My mother had been on tamoxifen since Sept. Her CA125 started going up in Feb, so in March they doubled her dosage. Now it's going up again, but that's to be expected. The response interval is usually 4-11 months in OVCA, and then for many people the drug stops working. It's helped buy my mother some very good time, and she's had few or no side effects. Hope it works as well for you.
  • nancy591
    nancy591 Member Posts: 1,027 Member
    #6
    GOOD LUCK
    I've had bad experiences in the ER myself. One doctor at my local rural ER says, 'well, you know you have cancer. If we find something what are you going to do about it anyway?'

    I did file complaint with the hospital.

    I will be speaking with my doctor about Avastin this week. He said if it proves successful he will add it to my current regimen.

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