Ovarian / Peritoneal Cancer

Daniel76
Daniel76 Member Posts: 6
in Ovarian Cancer #1
Hello,

I am from Germany so please forgive me for mistakes in language and terminology.
My mom got diagnosed with Peritoneal Cancer that originated in Ovarian Cancer.
The ovaries were taken out, as well as the bigger knots of the cancer but it spread everywhere so there is no way to remove it all. We have looked into the HIPEC therapy but were told that she doesn't qualify for it because part of her small intestines had been effected. She has done systemic chemotherapy which she reacted to well. The cancer disappeared but everyone knew it was going to come back. She had a laparoscopy done that confirmed that the cancer cells - though too small to be spotted on an ultra-sound - were still there and growing back.
So now we are waiting for the cancer to grow back. We are told this will take approximately 9 months, then they'll try systemic chemotherapy again. This loop is to be repeated until the chemotherapy doesn't work anymore, at which point my mother will die.

We have talked to a couple of specialists in Germany that all told us this was all that could be done.
Reading entries on this forum I am reading about a lot of medication patients in similar situations are taking. My mom doesn't take anything. So I thought I'd check if doctors in the US handle Peritoneal Cancer differently from the German ones. Does anybody know how I can find out? (I live in Los Angeles, my mom lives in Germany)
Or does anybody have advice on which medication is commonly prescribed for that kind of cancer over here? Or hints as to what research I should do regarding treatment?

Thank you very much for your time!

Daniel

Comments

  • poopergirl14052
    poopergirl14052 Member Posts: 1,183 Member
    #2
    what is hipec
    Is that a drug used for chemo. Her is the states most cmon drug is carboplatin and taxol. Did they do a ct scan on her, i ALSO THINK NINE MONTHS IS TO LONG TO WAIT.,,VAL
  • Mum2bellaandwilliam
    Mum2bellaandwilliam Member Posts: 412
    #3
    poopergirl14052 said:

    what is hipec
    Is that a drug used for chemo. Her is the states most cmon drug is carboplatin and taxol. Did they do a ct scan on her, i ALSO THINK NINE MONTHS IS TO LONG TO WAIT.,,VAL

    Val hipec is heated chemo
    Val hipec is heated chemo straight in to the abdomen , they don't do it in the uk, shame it sounds an awesome treatment, cancer cells don't like heat!
    My mum has PPC she has carbo and taxol via iv drip as her firstline. This seems to be standard treatment.
    She is having a recurrence and they have put her on a drug called doxil ( caelyx). Mum had her recurrence less than 6 months after finishing her first line treatment, she is now termed ' platinum refractory' if she had gone longer than six months she would probably gone back on carbo ,taxol.
    Hope this helps and good luck to your mum. X

    P.s it might be worth seeing if there are any clinical trials in Germany.
  • Daniel76
    Daniel76 Member Posts: 6
    #4
    poopergirl14052 said:

    what is hipec
    Is that a drug used for chemo. Her is the states most cmon drug is carboplatin and taxol. Did they do a ct scan on her, i ALSO THINK NINE MONTHS IS TO LONG TO WAIT.,,VAL

    Hipec & drugs
    Thanks, you two.

    Yes, HIPEC is definitely worth checking out (http://www.hipectreatment.com/documents/hipec.php). It is a customary procedure in France and probably will be in Germany next year. Don't know what the status is in the US. It isn't completely without risk and side-effects so it is hotly debated.

    Did I misunderstand that then - these are the chemicals used for chemotherapy, patients are not prescribed any medicine (pills) throughout their treatment or afterwards?
  • Mum2bellaandwilliam
    Mum2bellaandwilliam Member Posts: 412
    #5
    Daniel76 said:

    Hipec & drugs
    Thanks, you two.

    Yes, HIPEC is definitely worth checking out (http://www.hipectreatment.com/documents/hipec.php). It is a customary procedure in France and probably will be in Germany next year. Don't know what the status is in the US. It isn't completely without risk and side-effects so it is hotly debated.

    Did I misunderstand that then - these are the chemicals used for chemotherapy, patients are not prescribed any medicine (pills) throughout their treatment or afterwards?

    There are some oral
    There are some oral chemotherapies, although I think for ovarian/ ppc the first line would always be carbo / taxol combo , they are the big boys! Mainly they are all iv chemos. I think their maybe one that is a tablet form , but I dont think they would be used until much further down the road.Please if I am wrong someone correct me, I am in the uk, so there maybe something different in the states, I am not sure if avastin is a pill?
    Other than that your mum will get sickness tablets etc.
    As long as she is getting the carbo taxol, that is gold standard firstling treatment.
  • Tina Brown
    Tina Brown Member Posts: 1,036 Member
    #6
    Daniel76 said:

    Hipec & drugs
    Thanks, you two.

    Yes, HIPEC is definitely worth checking out (http://www.hipectreatment.com/documents/hipec.php). It is a customary procedure in France and probably will be in Germany next year. Don't know what the status is in the US. It isn't completely without risk and side-effects so it is hotly debated.

    Did I misunderstand that then - these are the chemicals used for chemotherapy, patients are not prescribed any medicine (pills) throughout their treatment or afterwards?

    Hi Daniel
    I am from the UK & also have PPC. I can agree with others that IV chemo is what is used here and carboplatin & taxol are the gold standard. This is the strongest chemo they use. I'm not sure about other medication - I guess some chemo can be given orally in tablet form. This is often used if the patient is weaker and can't tolerate stronger chemo.

    I also agree that this cancer won't go away and will always come back at some point. However Im have a friend with PPC and she has been cancer free for almost 4 years after only 1 cycle of chemo. So don't resign yourself to a death sentence because no one knows how well you can tolerate chemo and how long the effects will be.

    Hope things work out well for your mum, Tina xx
  • Daniel76
    Daniel76 Member Posts: 6
    #7
    Tina Brown said:

    Hi Daniel
    I am from the UK & also have PPC. I can agree with others that IV chemo is what is used here and carboplatin & taxol are the gold standard. This is the strongest chemo they use. I'm not sure about other medication - I guess some chemo can be given orally in tablet form. This is often used if the patient is weaker and can't tolerate stronger chemo.

    I also agree that this cancer won't go away and will always come back at some point. However Im have a friend with PPC and she has been cancer free for almost 4 years after only 1 cycle of chemo. So don't resign yourself to a death sentence because no one knows how well you can tolerate chemo and how long the effects will be.

    Hope things work out well for your mum, Tina xx

    Thank you, Tina!
    Thank you, Tina - that's encouraging to hear!
  • Daniel76
    Daniel76 Member Posts: 6
    #8
    Mum2bellaandwilliam said:

    There are some oral
    There are some oral chemotherapies, although I think for ovarian/ ppc the first line would always be carbo / taxol combo , they are the big boys! Mainly they are all iv chemos. I think their maybe one that is a tablet form , but I dont think they would be used until much further down the road.Please if I am wrong someone correct me, I am in the uk, so there maybe something different in the states, I am not sure if avastin is a pill?
    Other than that your mum will get sickness tablets etc.
    As long as she is getting the carbo taxol, that is gold standard firstling treatment.

    Thank you!

    Thank you!
  • South Jersey
    South Jersey Member Posts: 89
    #9
    PPC
    Daniel,
    I was diagnosed with PPC, stage 3C in July, 2009. In addition to my chest port, I also recieved Cisplatin through an IP port. Unfortunately, because of complications with the port, I was only able to receive two treatments through the IP port. However, from what I understand, there has been a lot of success with this type of treatment. After the
    IP port was removed, I continued treatment with taxol/carboplatin treatments. I have been cancer free since 12/2009.

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