Oh god....what do you ladies think?

Mum2bellaandwilliam

Hi I spoke to mum this morning and she thinks she needs the fluid drained. When she went the other week they wouldn't drain it, they don't like to do it unless it is really necessary , so some did remain in in there , she said she could live with it.
I am scared , it had stopped filling up , and I am wondering if this b*****d has built up a resistance after just two infusions.
What do you guys think?

LaundryQueen

evaluating the ascites
Is your mom still on Doxil? I think ascites is listed as one of the side effects of Doxil so I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that her treatment isn't working just yet. Maybe some of the survivors who have been treated with Doxil can be more helpful here--I don't have first-hand experience with it.

I also don't have enough information about your mom to help you with the evaluation of her ascites. Watching her weight and measuring her abdominal girth (as well as taking constipation into consideration) are ways to monitor ascites--the best measure would be to ultrasound and drain it but I am just trying to help you collect information to tell the doctor.

Is it possible that the fluid that remained previously has not receeded but not increased? If she is feeling worse, then you might have to kick up a fuss to get her taken care of.

I know you are in the UK and health care is delivered a little differently there. Could you get your mom in for an ultrasound to have her evaluated? They may make the decision to drain the fluid after seeing what she is dealing with.

Your mom's condition is complicated and I can't say whether or not you can worry that the chemo is not working. I asked the oncologist to check me for ascites as my belly was feeling worse and it turned out to be constipation from the narcotics!

Hissy_Fitz

When they drain the ascites
When they drain the ascites they can determine what kind it is. If it's malignant ascites, it's caused by the cancer. And it will continue to come back until the chemo starts working.

Give it some time. I don't think two infusions is long enough to throw in the towel.

I had ascites pre-surgery. They drained 3 liters off my stomach and in the OR, a week later, 10 more were drained. It comes back really quickly.

Carlene

Mum2bellaandwilliam

Hissy_Fitz said:

When they drain the ascites
When they drain the ascites they can determine what kind it is. If it's malignant ascites, it's caused by the cancer. And it will continue to come back until the chemo starts working.

Give it some time. I don't think two infusions is long enough to throw in the towel.

I had ascites pre-surgery. They drained 3 liters off my stomach and in the OR, a week later, 10 more were drained. It comes back really quickly.

Carlene

The problem is she was
The problem is she was having it drained weekly , and about 3 weeks after the first infusion it stopped, and she has been fine since, although they wouldnt drain her the last time they said there wasnt enough,how ever she still looked bloated ,she now thinks it is on the rise again, only time will tell I guess, I just hate not knowing

Tethys41

Mum2bellaandwilliam said:

The problem is she was
The problem is she was having it drained weekly , and about 3 weeks after the first infusion it stopped, and she has been fine since, although they wouldnt drain her the last time they said there wasnt enough,how ever she still looked bloated ,she now thinks it is on the rise again, only time will tell I guess, I just hate not knowing

Ascites
I had ascites really bad for two months following my surgery, and the chemo didn't touch it. Each time fluid is drained, she loses more protien. My albumen protien level eventually dropped so low that my tissues couldn't hold fluids anymore, contributing to the ascites. The ONLY thing that stopped is was going on TPN (Total Parental Nutrition), essentially IV nutrition 24/7. For some reason, some oncologists are hesitant to start this treatment. The only reason I was put on it was because I was in the hospital for a peritoneal infection and the hospitalist put me on it. Find out what your mom's albumen level is. If it is really low, urge them to put her on TPN. Mine was at 1.0 when I went on it. Anything below 3.4 is below normal.