Doctor Visit Follow up :-(

ptharp
ptharp Member Posts: 190
in Ovarian Cancer #1
I just got home and cryed all the way here (2 hours). I am Stage IIIc. It went into my lymthnode. One lymthnode. It is a Serous Carcinoma. They had to call a social worker to come in and talk to me I was that upset. My Chemo will start in about 3 weeks. It looks like I am choosing the Capboplatin IV every three weeks and the Taxol IV every week for 18 weeks. My other choice is taxol and cisplatin every 21 days. I would go into the hospital and have a port put in my belly. Then on the first day I would have the Taxol IV then Day 2 I would have cisplatin IP in belly and then day 8 back to the hospital and have the taxol in belly. The Doctor said that the two have similar outcomes. I asked him what he would give his wife and he really did not want to answer, but when I kept asking and asked him if he was a woman which one he would do for himself he said he would do the one that dors not involve the hospital.

Comments

  • txtrisha55
    txtrisha55 Member Posts: 693 Member
    #2
    I was stage 3c1 in one lymph
    I was stage 3c1 in one lymph node with carsonoma sarcoma uterine cancer. I had 6 treatments of carbo/taxal IV every 21 days last year from May to Aug. It is doable. Taxal may make you lose your hair but it does grow back when you are through. It is temporary. All other hair usually falls out to. Food taste bad about the 3rd after chemo it last about a 5-7 days then taste comes back. Friends told that is when I should have ate things I did not like. I said no because if I did not like it before I sure would not like it when things tasted bad. You will also get joint pain and drink lots of fluids because the medicine does give you constipation. I would make sure that I got a port put in because if the IV is straight in the vein it can distroy the vein and you could have problems later. My gyn onc dr said she would do the carbo/taxal so that is what I chose. I am over 1 yr out from last chemo treatment and doing ok and no evidence of disease (NED). Praying for peace for you and strength to get through this. trish from Uterine cancer board.
  • Glad to be done
    Glad to be done Member Posts: 569
    #3
    First off let me say this...
    First off let me say this... Do not panic too much... I know exactly how you feel. I too was diagnosed 3c. Mine was found microscpicly in 2 lymp nodes. It was the 2 my right ovary was sitting on. Mine was also serous carcinoma. I went back in and had the IP port put in. That surgery was not bad. I also had a power port put in my chest. At first I was dead against another port but after my first treatment without it I said let's get the second one. I was soooo glad I did. It made treatments so much easier and saved the veins in my arms. The power port surgery was very quick. I think the whole prep and surgery took just under an hour. You are awake the whole time...

    My doc started with the big guns - cisplatian/taxol and said if I couldn't tolerate it she would change to carboplatian. I tolerated fine. Why do you have to go into the hospital to have it?

    My cycle was an 8 day cycle. Day 1 was taxol in the chest port and cisplatian in the IP port. Day 2 was back to the infusion room for 2 liters of fluid then I was done for the week. Day 8 (mon) I went back for taxol in my IP port then I was done for that week and the next. I did 6 cycles of that.

    When I went in for my surgery my 125 level was in the high 200's. The day I started chemo it was 19 and went down to 10 where it remains. I completed chemo the end of June and am NED, feeling great and back to normal life.

    I know exactly how you feel. I thought my diagnosis meant I was going to die tomorrow. It is not. There are plenty of ladies on here and my other group that have been diagnosed the same as us and are still here after many years and NED...

    It can be done. I throgh my whole heart and soul into my treatment and recovery. I told myself every day "I have cancer, cancer does NOT have me.

    I have come to terms with the fact that some day my cancer may come back but I refuse to count the minutes till it does....

    You too will get there in your own time. You are very lucky because you have something I did not. You have all of us here. We got your back. I found this group after I found out I was NED. Sure wish I found it during treatment. You are not alone. We will be with you every step of the way... Any questions just ask.

    Eileen
  • ptharp
    ptharp Member Posts: 190
    #4
    Glad to be done said:

    First off let me say this...
    First off let me say this... Do not panic too much... I know exactly how you feel. I too was diagnosed 3c. Mine was found microscpicly in 2 lymp nodes. It was the 2 my right ovary was sitting on. Mine was also serous carcinoma. I went back in and had the IP port put in. That surgery was not bad. I also had a power port put in my chest. At first I was dead against another port but after my first treatment without it I said let's get the second one. I was soooo glad I did. It made treatments so much easier and saved the veins in my arms. The power port surgery was very quick. I think the whole prep and surgery took just under an hour. You are awake the whole time...

    My doc started with the big guns - cisplatian/taxol and said if I couldn't tolerate it she would change to carboplatian. I tolerated fine. Why do you have to go into the hospital to have it?

    My cycle was an 8 day cycle. Day 1 was taxol in the chest port and cisplatian in the IP port. Day 2 was back to the infusion room for 2 liters of fluid then I was done for the week. Day 8 (mon) I went back for taxol in my IP port then I was done for that week and the next. I did 6 cycles of that.

    When I went in for my surgery my 125 level was in the high 200's. The day I started chemo it was 19 and went down to 10 where it remains. I completed chemo the end of June and am NED, feeling great and back to normal life.

    I know exactly how you feel. I thought my diagnosis meant I was going to die tomorrow. It is not. There are plenty of ladies on here and my other group that have been diagnosed the same as us and are still here after many years and NED...

    It can be done. I throgh my whole heart and soul into my treatment and recovery. I told myself every day "I have cancer, cancer does NOT have me.

    I have come to terms with the fact that some day my cancer may come back but I refuse to count the minutes till it does....

    You too will get there in your own time. You are very lucky because you have something I did not. You have all of us here. We got your back. I found this group after I found out I was NED. Sure wish I found it during treatment. You are not alone. We will be with you every step of the way... Any questions just ask.

    Eileen

    so your IP port was in your
    so your IP port was in your belly? I don't know why, maybe because you get a heavy duty IV first day and second day in the belly.
  • Glad to be done
    Glad to be done Member Posts: 569
    #5
    ptharp said:

    so your IP port was in your
    so your IP port was in your belly? I don't know why, maybe because you get a heavy duty IV first day and second day in the belly.

    Yep it was. Both ports are
    Yep it was. Both ports are totally under the skin and they access with needle. There is not any cords or anything.

    I didnt even know the port was there. It was removed about 4 weeks after I completed chemo. That surgery took longer to prep me than to remove it.


    Did your doc mention the power port? I really really recommend it. Save your veins. The doc that pur my power port in (I freeaked out during prep and almost backed out) said the the chemo burns your veins and leaves brown lines and that you could have problems later on
  • ptharp
    ptharp Member Posts: 190
    #6
    Glad to be done said:

    Yep it was. Both ports are
    Yep it was. Both ports are totally under the skin and they access with needle. There is not any cords or anything.

    I didnt even know the port was there. It was removed about 4 weeks after I completed chemo. That surgery took longer to prep me than to remove it.


    Did your doc mention the power port? I really really recommend it. Save your veins. The doc that pur my power port in (I freeaked out during prep and almost backed out) said the the chemo burns your veins and leaves brown lines and that you could have problems later on

    I think so. He talked about
    I think so. He talked about a port up near my sholder. That way I would not have an IV. Is that what you mean? Did you go to a large hospital or one of the top ten like Dana Farber.
  • ktamp
    ktamp Member Posts: 81
    #7
    Hang in there
    Hang in there. It doesn't seem like it now but life does go on, even with cancer. You will settle into a new normal while you go through chemo. I started out with the carbo every 3 weeks and taxol weekly. I only did two rounds of that and had to stop the taxol and switch to taxotere because of neuropathy. I did the carbo/taxotere every 3 weeks for 4 rounds. I preferred the every 3 weeks as it gave me more time between treatments. When I went weekly, I felt like my life revolved around chemo. Start taking Vitamin B6 100mg 3 times daily. It really helps with neuropathy. Stay hydrated. Try to exercise if you can, it really did help with my fatigue but I couldn't do much. I tried to do 15-20 minutes daily on the elliptical or take a walk if it was semi-warm.
  • Mwee
    Mwee Member Posts: 1,338
    #8
    ((((HUGS))))
    All of this is such a lot to take in and can be very overwhelming. I've had Carboplatin, Taxol and Cisplatin and while chemo is not a picnic, it is doable. We'll be there all the way to help you get through this. Ports will be your friends. They make access very easy. How are you feeling today?
    (((HUGS))) Maria
  • ptharp
    ptharp Member Posts: 190
    #9
    Mwee said:

    ((((HUGS))))
    All of this is such a lot to take in and can be very overwhelming. I've had Carboplatin, Taxol and Cisplatin and while chemo is not a picnic, it is doable. We'll be there all the way to help you get through this. Ports will be your friends. They make access very easy. How are you feeling today?
    (((HUGS))) Maria

    I am better than I was
    I am better than I was yesterday. I went to my job today. There was a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony. I had someone drop me off and then pick me up. Since I just had my surgery 2 weeks ago I am paying for it now. I put my PJs on right away and went to bed to watch TV. The way the Oncologist taked being tired would be the worst because they have pretty good drugs for nausua.
  • Glad to be done
    Glad to be done Member Posts: 569
    #10
    ptharp said:

    I am better than I was
    I am better than I was yesterday. I went to my job today. There was a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony. I had someone drop me off and then pick me up. Since I just had my surgery 2 weeks ago I am paying for it now. I put my PJs on right away and went to bed to watch TV. The way the Oncologist taked being tired would be the worst because they have pretty good drugs for nausua.

    Nausea is very manageable.
    Nausea is very manageable. Just have to find the right med for it. I took zofran and it worked like a charm. taxol causes major joint pain but a couple weeks ago I read on another board how to beat that. On day 2, 3, and 4 take 1 claritin and 2 tylenol. Suppossedly they had no joint pain... Of course, run that past your oncologist. This woman said she got the idea from her chemo nurse. You will be very tired and have no energy for about 5 days then it passes.

    You are in charge. The doctor and nurse are waiting for you to tell them what problems you are having and they will work to make them go away or at least be manageable. They will not know what your are feeling so you need to tell them.....
  • ptharp
    ptharp Member Posts: 190
    #11
    Glad to be done said:

    Nausea is very manageable.
    Nausea is very manageable. Just have to find the right med for it. I took zofran and it worked like a charm. taxol causes major joint pain but a couple weeks ago I read on another board how to beat that. On day 2, 3, and 4 take 1 claritin and 2 tylenol. Suppossedly they had no joint pain... Of course, run that past your oncologist. This woman said she got the idea from her chemo nurse. You will be very tired and have no energy for about 5 days then it passes.

    You are in charge. The doctor and nurse are waiting for you to tell them what problems you are having and they will work to make them go away or at least be manageable. They will not know what your are feeling so you need to tell them.....

    So for 5 days I will be
    So for 5 days I will be really tired. I will get chemo every 7 days so I will have only 2 days good?
  • txtrisha55
    txtrisha55 Member Posts: 693 Member
    #12
    ptharp said:

    I think so. He talked about
    I think so. He talked about a port up near my sholder. That way I would not have an IV. Is that what you mean? Did you go to a large hospital or one of the top ten like Dana Farber.

    Port
    My port was put in before I started chemo about a week before. It was an iv in mt arm with a drug that basically relaxed you. The prep was a needle just in the area the collar bone on the right shoulder. They deaden the area then it is small cut then they put in a small port in. Mine is a small triangle that is purple with a long plastic tube. Another small cut above the collar bone has where the tube goes into the vein then it goes mdown throught the vein into the heart. It does not hurt and they close both cuts with surgerical tape or dissolvable thread. I still have mine in but a coworker got hers out when she was through with her chemo. It is your decision but it does help and saves the veins. Prayers. trish
  • Glad to be done
    Glad to be done Member Posts: 569
    #13
    ptharp said:

    So for 5 days I will be
    So for 5 days I will be really tired. I will get chemo every 7 days so I will have only 2 days good?

    Maybe not. That was just
    Maybe not. That was just how mine was. My cycle was different than yours. Everybody is different and everyone handles it differently. I had an eight day cycle with taxol and cisplatian on day one. Day 2 and 3 I was fine and days 4-6 I was really tired and day 7 just blah. Day 8 I had just taxol and after that treatment usually on Wednesday I would take a 3 hour nap and was fine the rest of the time. It is all in what they give you and how your body reacts to it.....

    Do not get yourself worked up about everyone elses stories and how they reacted because you may not react that way. Just take our experience as a heads up on the things that you may experience.

    For instance I handled cisplatin and taxol fine but others could not. It all depends on your body.

    The most important thing to remember is that you have cancer the cancer does not have you. Go into that first treatment fighting and don't stop fighting till the end. We will all be here to help you through it and we will be standing at the end to celebrate with you when it is over....
  • ptharp
    ptharp Member Posts: 190
    #14
    Glad to be done said:

    Maybe not. That was just
    Maybe not. That was just how mine was. My cycle was different than yours. Everybody is different and everyone handles it differently. I had an eight day cycle with taxol and cisplatian on day one. Day 2 and 3 I was fine and days 4-6 I was really tired and day 7 just blah. Day 8 I had just taxol and after that treatment usually on Wednesday I would take a 3 hour nap and was fine the rest of the time. It is all in what they give you and how your body reacts to it.....

    Do not get yourself worked up about everyone elses stories and how they reacted because you may not react that way. Just take our experience as a heads up on the things that you may experience.

    For instance I handled cisplatin and taxol fine but others could not. It all depends on your body.

    The most important thing to remember is that you have cancer the cancer does not have you. Go into that first treatment fighting and don't stop fighting till the end. We will all be here to help you through it and we will be standing at the end to celebrate with you when it is over....

    It has not been 3 weeks yet
    It has not been 3 weeks yet since my surgery. I still am pretty sore and week. I had a total hysterectomy with the cut from the belly button to you know where and debulking. I still feel like being in bed. Is this normal.

Discussion Boards