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sk_Nebraska
sk_Nebraska Member Posts: 26
in Peritoneal Cancer #1

HI. I am so thankful to have found this site!!! Julie, Carole and everyone's posts have been so helpful.  I have finished 6 rounds of Taxol/Carbo/Avastin for a quite advanced cancer.  I am a 15 year breast cancer survivor stage 3 treated on a clinical trial in 1998.  This new cancer is not bc, but having a difficult time determining orgin or if PPC. Thankfully, the treatments are the same.

I was to have 8 rounds of T/C/A, but developed very numb feet and fell twice last week, so dropped Taxol, added Gemzar,now doing 2 weekly infusions, one week off. Don't know how long this protocol.  I too will not be bound by prognosis, will make my own. I have always believed it to be a chronic disease. Not real happy to be off Taxol, but won't miss the bone pain. My numbers are still not normal, but had drastic drops each time. My CT two weeks aago was "dramatic" improvement and oncologist let slip "almost looks normal". the original was "widespread". 

Has anyone had a drop in platelet counts low enuf to have to postpone Gemzar? Onc is on the alert for the count. 

Thanks again for all the sharing!!! Keep on keeping on.....

Cyber hugs to all

Sue

Comments

  • seatown
    seatown Member Posts: 261 Member
    #2
    Taxol side effects

    Hi again,

    So glad to hear you are having such good results! Keep it up.

    Just wanted to comment on the Taxol. Almost exactly a year ago, about halfway thru my Taxol/Carbo treatment, I too developed severe neuropathy and the numbness in my feet also caused me nearly to fall a couple of times. I was also feeling quite unwell--had trouble controlling nausea & felt very weak. My oncologist's solution then was to reduce the frequency. Instead of getting Carbo/Taxol weekly for 3 wks, then 1 wk off, he cut it back to 2 wks on, 2 wks off. Sorry, but I can't recall for sure if he did anything to the dosage then. Anyway, that change reduced my neuropathy a lot, & I was able to stay on the modified protocol to its conclusion in Dec. If for some reason your Gemzar doesn't work out, maybe a different Taxol schedule is a possibility.

    Nice to hear from you again, and thank you for the kind words.  Good luck! You've beat one cancer, you can beat this one too.

    Carole

     

  • sk_Nebraska
    sk_Nebraska Member Posts: 26
    #3
    Taxol timing

    Carole, Thanks for responding. I thought the onc would change the timing of Taxol. I had been getting the mega doses every three weeks.  When we began he had said if I did not tolerate the chemo we would go to weekly doses.  I was surprised to switch to Gemzar. However, am feeling realy quite better today--had first infusion yesterday, go again next week. Thankfully, I have the same onc as last time.

    Sue

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