Taxol & Carbo

Taxol/Carbo
I had this combo. They give pre-meds first which prevent nausea-----Decadron, Zofran, Benadryl and one other med. I actually felt pretty good the chemo day and the next day, probably from the steroid. Most people feel sick the next few days. I had chemo on Wed., felt sick Friday, Sat., and Sunday. Monday and Tuesdays were okay. Didn't vomit at all. Keep up the liquids as dehydration can be a problem. After a few treatments, there can be problems with low red and white blood cell counts. They usually administer a shot for this, if it becomes severe, they do a blood transfusion. I only had to have one transfusion. My chemo was once a week for three weeks, then one week off. During that week off, the body can recover, and you usually feel good. I think some people had a larger dose once a month, with three weeks off. Maybe they can post, and discuss what that experience was like. All in all, chemo wasn't that hard on me, I didn't feel like eating much, and lost a ton of weight, and was tired a lot. I found if I exercised a little, I was able to handle it better. Whenever I craved something, my husband would run out and get it, because I didn't want to eat many things. Go with eating whatever she wants, when she wants it. I think I ate nothing but cheese spread on crackers for a few weeks. It was all I could stomach. Hope everything goes okay with your mom, just be there for her.....

lovesanimals said:

Hi Babyg1rl
I had the same combo last year. I had six treatments total, one every three weeks. Mine were done on Thursdays and I experienced a lot of fatigue and no appetite through the following Tuesday or so. It was a chore trying to make myself drink and eat even small amounts those first few days but I was worried about losing too much weight. (I'm skinny.) I also had constipation the first few days but I dealt with that fairly well by taking Miralax a couple of days before each treatment and then through the first week. I had no nausea probably because of the pre-meds given to me just before the chemo drugs. Also, before my first treatment, I also requested a prescription for anti-nausea pills, just in case. I usually took those the first couple of days to prevent any queasiness from developing. Usually about one week or so after the treatment, I felt pretty darn good, with my appetite back and not feeling so tired.

Wishing your mom the best. Please keep us posted on her progress.

Kelly

I had the same combo last
I had the same combo last year, except I also had Avastin. I did get sick after the 3rd and 6th treatments, but it wasn't that bad. Fatigue, body aches. I did have to have platelets after I think it was the fourth treatment. Overall I handled the chemo really well. I gained weight, The steroids made me hungry and the Benadryl made me sleepy. (Pre-meds).

Wishing your Mom the best. She will find the chemo nurses to be very helpful and kind.

Carla

Carb/Taxerol
Hello I was on this in the very beginning of my cancer treatments. I was so very sick in the beginning had double pneumia , fluid build up in both my stomach and lungs which had to be drained. I did go and get my head shaved because I want to feel strong against something at that time. Didnt want to watch it fall out. This chemo also called chemo cocktail by my nurse was a real kicker. Had the before drugs steroids and bendodryl. I had real hard time eating as nothing tasted good or sounded good to me (lost alot of weight about 100 pounds) and had tingling numbness in feet and hands. Had real hard time walking. Had to use wheelchair at some point.(Im still have some numbness and tingling in hands and feet) Doctor finally gave rx to make me eat gained some weight back. Used plastic silverware to help with the metal taste. My Dr said he was giving me as much as could without killing me (this was my beginning treatment I guess I should say Im a stage 4) Yes this was very rough time but Im alive because of it. Had to have this that way so I could eventually have my surgery(had it April2011) all treatment started in July2010. Just have to be patience and supportive during this time. This chemo comb does work.

undertreatment2012 said:

taxol carbo
treatment most of one whole day, then another 21 days later. I have had two. First time was the worst. Two days later I had diarrhea, nausea, horrid leg pain from the hips down. The leg pain is the absolute worst for me and I think I will try some hydrocodone next time. I muttled through with it the first two times but it is SO bad. warn your mom this is normal but can be bad. The week before second treatment I really loaded up on greens and proteins and maybe that had nothing to do with it, but the second treatment except for the leg pain was not nearly as bad. About 10 days out I felt the fatigue, but all in all it wasnt as bad as I expected. Good luck to her!!

Other concerns
I'm not sure but I think the leg pains are from low magnesium (this chemo combo causes a loss of magnesium)--green foods have magnesium so maybe the greens DID help.

No one so far has mentioned the side effect of feeling depressed & weepiness that goes with carboplatin. Don't be surprised if your mom gets weepy--it should clear up by 5-7 days. If not, anti-depressant medicine can help.

The chemo messes up brain chemistry--there's even a condition known as chemo brain that hits some people worse than others. The chemo brain shows up as forgetfulness & difficulty finding the words one wants to say.

I had a REAL hard time with taxol affecting my brain--I think I was a rare case (according to my oncologist), although I have heard of this problem with others. I had to stop taking taxol altogether because it messed my brain up too much; eventually, I made a complete recovery. After chemo, your mom should be able to walk & talk normally and NOT slur words or sleep 20 hrs/day.

Best wishes to both of you.

slhwtx said:

Start this combo soon
I start this combo in couple of weeks. Thank you for all the post replies to the initial request. Makes me feel better knowing what to possibly expect as well. I have the nauseau medication already so for that I am prepared. Didn't know about the pain that may come so I will be sure to ask about that and what best to take as the papers they gave me said not to take certain things, Ibuprofin and acetemataphin are two on the list along with aspirin.

Going out to shop for my wig tomorrow in preparation for the hair loss.

Good luck to you all in your journey.

Welcome and best of luck
with your treatments. We'll be right here for you if you have any questions or concerns. Most of us have been through carbo/taxol treatments and we'll be glad to help you through this.
(((HUGS))) Maria

Has anyone undergone chemo while pregnant?

I was diagnosed at 15 weeks pregnant with Stage 1C OC and had the preliminary debulking done.   My doctor called yesterday and said I was going to start the 1 Day every 21 Days Taxol/Carb beginning 3/21/13.   My OB and Maternal Fetal Doc's have both OK'd this treatment, but I have got to admit that I am scared TO DEATH!  I'm 22 weeks pregnant now and baby seems to be doing okay.  I'm reading through all of the posts and it seems like this the next 18 weeks may be hell for me.... 

sop517 said:

carbo/taxil

I am one week post my first of three treatments.  I will have one treatment every three weeks. 

I think the pre-meds I received helped a lot!  The benadryl made me sleep through most of my treatment and also most of the rest of that day.  So far I can say that I have not had the severe nausea.  I had a small bout, but no vomiting.  The thing I did notice is the chemo-brain.  I had my treatment on Friday and was back to work on Monday and I felt like I had been out drinking.  I could not focus on anything and I zoned out a lot!  This stayed with me through Wednesday.  I had muscle/body aches on Tuesday - to the point that I couldn't even have anyone touch me because it hurt.  I also started noticing some numbing in my feet.  By Thursday I began to feel like myself again - with the exception of the mouth sores.  I have those now and I hope they go away soon.

I am not sure what to expect on treatments two and three.  I am hoping the chemo brain is not like it was this time around.

Hello and welcome to the board Sop517

Stage 1 is totally curable and you are very lucky that your doctor caught it early. However his statement that ovarian cancer mostly happens in post-menopausal women is total BS. Also you might want to get BRCA genetic testing to make sure that your cancer origin is not hereditary.

Let me start off by saying that chemo affects everyone differently. In the pre-chemo class nurses mention all the common side effects, it does not mean that you will get all or any of them.

I am stage 3C. I had 7 rounds of Taxol / Carbo through IV every 3 weeks (4 before debulking surgery and 3 after). Overall I had it easy. I was not working since my dx; bored out of my skull, spending all day buying junk off ebay, hanging at the mall and watching too many TV shows designed for "chemo brain" like Maury Povich and Gerry Springer.

After benadryl drip I slept through most of the treatment, but towards the end woke up and drove myself home. Next day after chemo I was hyper, full of energy and had increased appetite due to steroids. I felt mild fatigue for the first week after each chemo (took a lot of naps and hired a cleaning lady), week 2 and 3 I felt just fine. Anti-nausea meds (Zofran) did not work for me, after the first round I was vomiting for 4 days. From the second round on they changed the meds and I never had nausea or vomiting again. I did not have mouth sores or unpleasant taste in my mouth, and I was not even rinsing with salt or baking soda like they recommended. My appetite was great throughout all chemo, I wish it was not that great because I gained 35 lbs. I was not on any special diet. They recommend drinking over 8 glasses of water, well I drank only if I felt thirsty. I never had any GI issues, no constipation, no diarrhea, no abdominal cramps or pains. I did not have any muscle or joint pain, never had a fever or flu-like symptoms. My bloodwork (RBC, WBC, platelets) was always in normal range and I never had to postpone treatments. My CA125 (1083 at dx) was dropping after every round and was in the normal range (18) after round 4 and (6) after round 7.  

On day 13 after the first round all my hair fell out (I shaved my head in advance and got a bunch of wigs, scarves and hats) except eyelashes and eyebrows; they hang on till about 4th round and then fell out (I used eyebrow powder Browderm; Idollash and eyelash extensions). My skin became very dry and flaky (I used Vaseline intensive care twice a day), face was pale (moisturizer and lots of decorative make-up).

After the forth round I experienced peripheral neuropathy for the first time - numbness and tingling in my toes and it got progressively worse with each round moving to my feet and hands and becoming painful. It went away for a while after surgery and taking Gabapentin, but then started again. I try not to wear high heels over 3", my stiletto collection is patiently waiting for me to get better.

I started experiencing "chemo brain" right away (mostly short-term memory loss, sometimes I felt dizzy and disoriented, had trouble multi-tasking and remembering words) and I still have some memory issues, almost 4 months after finishing chemo. I did not take any anxiety meds or anti-depressants (if I felt blue, ice cream always helped).

Third round of chemo kicked me into menopause, my periods stopped, however I had no hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings or vaginal dryness until after hysterectomy. I started on estrogen replacement (Premarin orally and vaginally) as soon as I could get my hands on it and it took care of above symptoms. My libido did not decrease during chemo or after surgery and I did not have any sexual disfunction (just do it!), fertility loss grief (I am 45 and was done procreating 20 years ago) or low self-esteem issues (having a good partner helps). I did not like the look of scars left by hysterectomy and IP port, so I had tummy tuck done to get it fixed 2 months after finishing chemo and I am very happy with the results.

My hair started growing back about 2 months after the last round of chemo, which is a mixed blessing because I kind of got used to not having to shave my legs, armpits and other places and I like playing dress-up with my many wigs. I was really glad when my eyebrows and eyelashes came back.

Dear Sop517, I hope that you slide through your remaining 2 rounds of chemo with minimal physical and emotional side effects and put this ordeal behind you. Best of luck to you and don't forget to come back and update us on your progress.