IP chemo

Alexandra said:

IP chemo

Kim, I am very sorry about your recurrence. It sucks and you will need time to regroup and get back into the fighting mode. Join the rest of us in the race to NED.

I was supposed to have IP chemo after debulking surgery. Usually IP port is installed durung surgery under the rib cage on the right. In my case there was a mix-up with consent form and it was not done. I had a separate ultrasound-guided procedure to install the IP port. Unfortunately a clueless radiologist incorrectly placed the port into the belly fat and incision never closed or healed, so it could not be used for IP chemo. I got my chemo the old-fashioned way, through IV into the arm.

From what I remember first you will be given normal steroids and Benadryl, then Taxol through IV. Then Carboplatin through IP. You will be in bed in a slightly reclined position and nurse will turn you side to side every 15 minutes or so. You don't have to be in the hospital for that.

I didn't know that IP chemo is used for recurrence. I was told that it never happens, that is why my unlucky IP port was removed as soon as I finished first line chemo.

Sending you healing thoughts and best wishes,

Alexandra

Kim I too am so sorry you are going through this again.  I did IP with no problems with the port.  I had it done right at the infusion center.  Usually took about 6 hours or so but longer the first time because the ran it slow...  I had steroids and benadryl.  The surgery to put it in was about an hour and a half and to take it our was less than an hour and I was not put under - just out.  Have the doc put it on the opposite side you sleep on if you are a side sleeper.  Do you know when your surgery is?

Upside to the IP chemo was that I got my own room with a bed for chemo.  You have to roll from side to side like every hour or so or get up and walk so it sloshes around... 

Any questions you have I will try and answer.  I too thought it wasn't used for recurrence.  I wonder if you can have it cuz you didnt the first time....

Good luck on your journey and know we all have your back

kimberly sue 63 said:

I started with a new

I started with a new gyn/oncologist.  You usually dont have second surgery either. He feels if he can debulk me again and then put in the port, I have a better chance for a longer remission. He is specialized in ovarian cancer and has his own lab. I think he wants to be as vigorous as possible as long as I can handle it. It does make sense to re-debulk

down to less than a centimeter again.

 

Did you have a lot of abdominal pain and vomiting?

Kim

Kim I am happy to report no pain and I never vomited once..  After the third treatment I got bad constipation .  iafter that I started taking miralax the morning of treatment and that did the trick.  They gave me zofran for nausea so as soon as I felt the least bit queasy I would take that and never got nauseous...  I sailed through pretty easy. I was very lucky.

What chemo will you be doing?

I did six rounds of IV/IP after my surgery.  The catheter was inserted during surgery.  I never had any problems with it, and the removal was done in the office with local anesthesia.  Minimal pain.  You will get very used to it, just tucking it in your panties.  No big deal.

The IP infusion was interesting.  It was not uncomfortable, but I sure did notice my full belly when I would bend down.  (I am tall, and I am not a small woman, so I probably had a lot more room in my belly than some shorter or more petite women.) 

I was up to the toilet several times during the infusion, so the nurses didn't turn me, like others have mentioned.  It just takes time...but I sort of looked forward to having a day to just lay around and think or read.  The pre-meds included benedryl for me, and than made me sleepy. 

In the day or two afterwards, there were lots of trips to the toilet to get rid of all that fluid.  And you MUST start Miralax before and keep taking it for a week.  Do not get constipated!  I had medicine to take for nausea, so that wasn't a big issue for me.  Chemo brain and fatigue were/are my on-going issues.

So, don't be afraid of IP.  It is do-able.  And research says, it works better than not.  Good luck!

Yes, I had IV/IP chemo. Week 1 both, week two just IP, week3 fluids. Repeated for 18 weeks. I am NED and on August 3 it will be two years of NED.

kimberly sue 63 said:

Tuesday at the University of

Tuesday at the University of Chicago.

130 pm

 

Debulking is a big surgery, but I feel positive about this for you.  I think I would choose it again if I were in your situation.  Get that crap out and start fresh!  I hope your recovery is quick and uncomplicated.