How many rounds/treatments of chemo has everyone had?

kellyh33

Yesterday my Mom had her 24th chemo in a year. She was so anxious and weepy yesterday. Her iron counts were good at 106 but her nerves have been shot so she wasn't eating very well. Unfortunately she lost 6 lbs in a month so she is now sitting at 83 lbs. I had a long talk with her and my Dad about her food intake and yesterday she did pretty good. The oncologist has added another anti nausea to the mix and the dietician gave us some powdered protein to sneak into her food. It is odorless, colourless and tasteless.
We also got some boost and resource for additional calories. I am really hoping this works.

Hissy_Fitz

I had 18 treatments in a
I had 18 treatments in a row. Carbo/Taxol every 3 weeks for 6 rounds, then 12 months of Taxol only, one infusion per month.

After that I did 5 injections of a clinical trial vaccine.

Carlene

LaundryQueen

Hissy_Fitz said:

I had 18 treatments in a
I had 18 treatments in a row. Carbo/Taxol every 3 weeks for 6 rounds, then 12 months of Taxol only, one infusion per month.

After that I did 5 injections of a clinical trial vaccine.

Carlene

I had 4 taxol & 5
I had 4 taxol & 5 carboplatin treatments. The neutropenia was a problem ( low white blood cells) & since the scan looked stable (3/11) & the CA-125 was < 10, the doc said I could "take a break". I consulted a heme/onc also & he said there would be no additional benefit to me if I continued on the carbo ( the taxol had to be stopped after 4 treatments--it was too toxic for me). And to take more carboplatin could increase the possibility of platinum resistance.

Since I am not in the "optimally-debulked" club, I have a feeling the game plan for me is to keep me alive with the LEAST amount of chemo possible. The gyn/onc expects me to be on & off chemo for the rest of my life.

I've never been declared NED. In March, the cancer was inactive and now it is probably active again (CA-125 is 3x above the upper limit of normal).

I am counting on the ascorbic acid IVs to keep me platinum sensitive as I responded so well to carboplatin as my first-line treatment.

I feel well and I decided that I AM a well person with just one chronic problem to live with.

LQ

leesag

Treatments and Nutrition
I had 6 treatments of carbo/taxol from March 2010 - June 2010. I was NED until May (actually probably March) of 2011. Then I had Brain Mets. Three tumors, a large one 5.4 x 4 cm was removed with a craniatomy and neurosurgery. The other two have been treated with 15 daily treatments of whole brain radiation (yes, I'm bald again and on July 27th I'll have gamma knife surgery. In the meantime, I'm having blood drawn and seeing my medical oncologist on Tuesday of next week to make sure that all of this has brought my CA125 back down to normal and there's nothing else going on.

I have to admit that long periods of treatment and dealing with side effects is horrendous on the body and the spirit. Eating hasn't been an issue this time around because I'm on steroids to reduce brain swelling. However, there were many days during my chemo treatments when food didn't interest me at all. My husband bought Chocolate Carnation Breakfast Drinks because they taste way better than boost, and provide additional nutrition and calories. He would even make milkshakes for me in the evenings as a treat. Small frequent "snacks" and meals during the day are more palatable then the traditional three square meals.

Also, tempt your mom with her favorite treats. Sometimes the thought of something isn't tempting but seeing someone else enjoying a cupcake, ice cream or other calorie laden treat will do the trick.


Finally, I have found that better living through chemistry is true. I take 20 mg of Celexa and .5 of Ativan every night before bed to help me make it through the night and the next day. The Ativan is a "take as needed" med for anxiety. Talk to your mom's onc about this if she's not already taking anything. Some people don't need it, after almost a week without sleeping, I realized that I'm one of the people who DOES need the extra help.


I hope this helps...

Hugs and Healing!

Leesa

Hissy_Fitz

leesag said:

Treatments and Nutrition
I had 6 treatments of carbo/taxol from March 2010 - June 2010. I was NED until May (actually probably March) of 2011. Then I had Brain Mets. Three tumors, a large one 5.4 x 4 cm was removed with a craniatomy and neurosurgery. The other two have been treated with 15 daily treatments of whole brain radiation (yes, I'm bald again and on July 27th I'll have gamma knife surgery. In the meantime, I'm having blood drawn and seeing my medical oncologist on Tuesday of next week to make sure that all of this has brought my CA125 back down to normal and there's nothing else going on.

I have to admit that long periods of treatment and dealing with side effects is horrendous on the body and the spirit. Eating hasn't been an issue this time around because I'm on steroids to reduce brain swelling. However, there were many days during my chemo treatments when food didn't interest me at all. My husband bought Chocolate Carnation Breakfast Drinks because they taste way better than boost, and provide additional nutrition and calories. He would even make milkshakes for me in the evenings as a treat. Small frequent "snacks" and meals during the day are more palatable then the traditional three square meals.

Also, tempt your mom with her favorite treats. Sometimes the thought of something isn't tempting but seeing someone else enjoying a cupcake, ice cream or other calorie laden treat will do the trick.


Finally, I have found that better living through chemistry is true. I take 20 mg of Celexa and .5 of Ativan every night before bed to help me make it through the night and the next day. The Ativan is a "take as needed" med for anxiety. Talk to your mom's onc about this if she's not already taking anything. Some people don't need it, after almost a week without sleeping, I realized that I'm one of the people who DOES need the extra help.


I hope this helps...

Hugs and Healing!

Leesa

I had the same issues with
I had the same issues with food right after surgery. I switched to whole milk and I've always used real butter. I tried to eat good quality red meat, both for my RBC and the fat content. Whereas I had used Equal in the past, I started using real sugar again. Just as you can make small, consistent changes to lose weight, you can do the same to stop weight loss. The milk shakes are a very good idea, especially with the protein powder added. I agree with Leesa....Boost is not appealing.

Carlene

Tethys41

Chemo rounds
I had an odd chemo regimen. I had one round of Gemzar/Taxotere. Before my second round, I discovered that my gyn/onc was taking me into uncharted, first line territory, so I insisted we switch to traditional treatment. I then received 8 rounds of Carboplatin/Taxol/Avastin. During these treatments, I was also receiving high dose IV vitamin C and nutritional IVs. These really helped with the side effects of chemo. I finished up with 11 rounds of Avastin only. The two-year anniversary of my surgery will be Aug. 7, and I am still NED.

You can talk to your mom's doctor. There are some prescriptions that may stimulate her appetite. Marinol is one, Regalan another. Then there is also the medical marijuana approach, if that is available in your state.

The Cancer Fighting Kitchen Cookbook by Rebecca Katz, has recipies geared towards people in treatment, and has advice on how to tweak the flavors of foods to make them more appealing to patients with poor appetites. A high calorie alternative to milk for her smoothies is coconut milk. It contains a lot of healthy fats.

kikz

Tethys41 said:

Chemo rounds
I had an odd chemo regimen. I had one round of Gemzar/Taxotere. Before my second round, I discovered that my gyn/onc was taking me into uncharted, first line territory, so I insisted we switch to traditional treatment. I then received 8 rounds of Carboplatin/Taxol/Avastin. During these treatments, I was also receiving high dose IV vitamin C and nutritional IVs. These really helped with the side effects of chemo. I finished up with 11 rounds of Avastin only. The two-year anniversary of my surgery will be Aug. 7, and I am still NED.

You can talk to your mom's doctor. There are some prescriptions that may stimulate her appetite. Marinol is one, Regalan another. Then there is also the medical marijuana approach, if that is available in your state.

The Cancer Fighting Kitchen Cookbook by Rebecca Katz, has recipies geared towards people in treatment, and has advice on how to tweak the flavors of foods to make them more appealing to patients with poor appetites. A high calorie alternative to milk for her smoothies is coconut milk. It contains a lot of healthy fats.

Chemo
Prior to debulking surgery I had three rounds of taxol/carbo, three weeks apart. After surgery I had taxol-day one, cisplatin-day two and taxol again-day eight. Two weeks from day eight, same, then again but I ended up in the hospital twice. Last time onc decided not to give me very last infusion of taxol. Day one and day two were IP and day eight was IV.

Karen

EnglishGal

in reply to your question
I was dx last May (2010) and had six rounds of carboplatin/taxol, ending in September 2010. I remain cancer-free.

cfont11

chemo
I had six treatments of taxol/carboplatin prior to my hysterectomy and debulking surgery. By the time I had surgery, the cancer was almost gone. After surgery I had 2 more treatments of taxol/carbo. I cannot have any more taxol/carbo. I'm not sure what I would have if I have a recurrence. My last CT scan (5/11) was clean and the dr. says I am in remission but my CA125 just went from 49 to 55. The dr. is not sure what this means and I am going to be re-tested in 3 weeks.

dreamer007

cfont11 said:

chemo
I had six treatments of taxol/carboplatin prior to my hysterectomy and debulking surgery. By the time I had surgery, the cancer was almost gone. After surgery I had 2 more treatments of taxol/carbo. I cannot have any more taxol/carbo. I'm not sure what I would have if I have a recurrence. My last CT scan (5/11) was clean and the dr. says I am in remission but my CA125 just went from 49 to 55. The dr. is not sure what this means and I am going to be re-tested in 3 weeks.

chemo treatments
I had 4 or 5 carbo/taxol treatments, then 4 or 5 more carbo/gemzar treatments,
when the taxol became resistent to the cancer

after the gemzar/carbo treatment, would be a blood transfusion 2 wks later,
due to extremely now blood counts

had the neuropathy with taxol, but not much at all with gemzar, and my hair
grew back, once i stopped taxol... there was a tradeoff on side effects, but
the gemzar/carbo got me to a good place

next doctor appt i will find out if i change to tamoxifan, or continue with the
arimidex