Doxil questions

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pevvy
pevvy Member Posts: 14
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
My mom has finished her radiation attempt to shrink her tumor. (ovarian but located in the pelvis and blocking her rectum) The radiation did little but to give her burns on her rectal area and vagina. Just as she was healing from this pain, she got shingles. Now, 7 weeks later her shingles are clearing and they want her to start on Doxil to attack the spots in other areas of her body which spread when she had to stop the carbo/taxol when she was getting radiation (she did not tolerate the combo of chemo and radiation). So now we are back to the chemo. Doxil seems to create very sensitive skin side effects...you can understand why mother is hesitant to start this up again! She also has a colostomy bag. Now with Doxil you are not supposed to have things tight to your skin...what about the bag and the adhesive she uses to attach the bag. Won't that create an irritation??? they say not to use bandages during this time...Anyone with Doxil experience, please advise what your thoughts are. We are going Thursday to review these questions with the Onc. My mother was scheduled for chemo this past week but canceled when the nurse went over all the possible side effects. She needs more time to process this.

Oh, in addition, she was throwing up Thursday night and had 2 bouts of diarrhea in the same night... the nurse said "oh, that happens with cancer"... we are thinking more that she had food poisoning. It has cleared up and she just has stomach pains in her muscles from the throwing she was doing. We are concerned that the health professionals want to tie everything to the cancer and not look at symptoms separate from the cancer. Could this be true??

Thanks for your time all, Linda

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  • nancy591
    nancy591 Member Posts: 1,027 Member
    #2
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    Doxil
    Yes, you shouldn't wear restrictive clothing with Doxil. I wore sports bras. I had to stop wearing underwear for awhile because I had a sore spot in that area. I also got a foot rash, a rash on my abdomen and hyperpigmentation spots on my legs. The heat also made my feed swell. Overall, in my opinion, the side effects were very managable.

    Does Mom have an illesostomy or a colostomy? Isn't the stool liquid anyway? How do you know it is diarrhea? I did have an illeostomy but now while I was on Doxil. Since I had my illeostomy reversed I have episodic bouts of diarrhea and stomach cramping. I would guess it is probably NOT food poisoning. I never had food poisoning but from what I hear there is not mistaking it. Don't forget, chemo is VERY hard on the digestive system for most people. After I have chemo I have constipation for the first 2 days thenb strong urge diarrhea.
  • Lisa13Q
    Lisa13Q Member Posts: 677
    #3
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    Yes it can be true
    Ask away...I am taking care of my Mom and got the worst case of C-Diff ever...If the symptoms persist you need to ask...
  • fightison
    fightison Member Posts: 3
    #4
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    Lisa13Q said:

    Yes it can be true
    Ask away...I am taking care of my Mom and got the worst case of C-Diff ever...If the symptoms persist you need to ask...

    Doxil
    I have had 5 doxil infusions, had some mouth sores in the beginning but my doc lowered the dosage and all was manageable. My feet did swell in the beginning and they are much better now. Get some bagbalm, you can get it at CVS or walmart. It really makes the feet feel good. My ca125 was 300 when I started and it is down to 87, I have 1 more treatment tomorrow and then my doc is giving me a chemo break. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

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