need for chemo

Options
kricketbear
kricketbear Member Posts: 4
in Ovarian Cancer #1
I had stage 3 ovarian so had 6 chemos and surgery. At my 6 month checkup, my markers were 182. One doctor said chemo fairly soon but cat scan first (results soon). He's no longer doing chemo and gave me a new doctor who said we'll proably let it ride. Oh yes, regular dr. found tumor during exam. Should I be concerned? Is it ok to wait longer to do more chemo? 182 does't sound so bad when I started at nearly 4000...but I don't know!

Comments

  • LaundryQueen
    LaundryQueen Member Posts: 676
    #2
    Options
    Platinum resistant?
    Were you told that you were platinum resistant? After surgery & 6 chemo treatments, I think your CA-125 number should be better. I would be looking for a clinical trial of some sort to get into as the standard treatment was suboptimal for you.

    The only reason that I can imagine for the oncologist to tell someone to "let it ride" is that they may not expect you to go into remission so they want to give you a chemo "holiday." Ovarian cancer is now being treated like a chronic illness where women extend their life by going on& off chemo for years. I'm sorry if this sounds like something you don't want to hear. You need to get more information from your doctor--you need to ask WHY no more chemo at this time. I am only guessing here.

    There were some research results that recently had a big influence on clinical practice--doctors are more inclined to treat based on factors other than a high CA-125. So if your scan doesn't look bad, you may stay on the chemo holiday until you are symptomatic.

    This is just one person's opinion. See what the other survivors have to say about your situation before you get yourself into an anxiety attack. All I know is that you are not in remission yet...I say that based on your elevated CA-125.

    I had a very low CA-125 number (less than 10) at the completion of chemo and still never got into remission because my scan showed "inactive disease." Now my CA-125 is high again while my scan looks stable & I feel great. So just know that you are not alone...I wish I had something more comforting to say than that.
  • amyd1
    amyd1 Member Posts: 6
    #3
    Options
    I wanted to share my
    I wanted to share my mother's case as it sounds like her situation is similar to yours. She has stage 3 ovarian. She had the surgery and 9 chemos. Her CA 125 was still 165. Her dr said she should stop the carbo-based chemos and try something else. However, he first put her on a "chemo-break" and in a couple more months they'll test the CA-125 again. If it goes up, at that point he'll get her started on another chemo regime. He also said he may wait until she's symptomatic b/c he says research shows there is no benefit to starting chemo now (based on the ca-125) or after she's symptomatic.

    She's feeling a bit distressed now because she's not on chemo fighting it.
  • kricketbear
    kricketbear Member Posts: 4
    #4
    Options
    LaundryQueen said:

    Platinum resistant?
    Were you told that you were platinum resistant? After surgery & 6 chemo treatments, I think your CA-125 number should be better. I would be looking for a clinical trial of some sort to get into as the standard treatment was suboptimal for you.

    The only reason that I can imagine for the oncologist to tell someone to "let it ride" is that they may not expect you to go into remission so they want to give you a chemo "holiday." Ovarian cancer is now being treated like a chronic illness where women extend their life by going on& off chemo for years. I'm sorry if this sounds like something you don't want to hear. You need to get more information from your doctor--you need to ask WHY no more chemo at this time. I am only guessing here.

    There were some research results that recently had a big influence on clinical practice--doctors are more inclined to treat based on factors other than a high CA-125. So if your scan doesn't look bad, you may stay on the chemo holiday until you are symptomatic.

    This is just one person's opinion. See what the other survivors have to say about your situation before you get yourself into an anxiety attack. All I know is that you are not in remission yet...I say that based on your elevated CA-125.

    I had a very low CA-125 number (less than 10) at the completion of chemo and still never got into remission because my scan showed "inactive disease." Now my CA-125 is high again while my scan looks stable & I feel great. So just know that you are not alone...I wish I had something more comforting to say than that.

    need chemo
    Thank you for your kind responses, but I better clear up that I was in remission with markers at 17, 3 months ago...3 months after my last chemo. My Dr. found a tumor in an in office exam but cat scans are not back yet. I'm just concerned that the new Dr. isn't too concerned and wonder whether he should be.

Discussion Boards