Uterine carcinosarcoma

pinky104 said:

The other chemo drug that is

The other chemo drug that is the standard along with Taxol is Carboplatin.  The genetic testing place you're discussing is probably Foundation One.  You'll have to fill out a form to get assistance from them.  They're really generous with their assistance.  I was able to get it easily.  Their report showed several things wrong with me, but unfortunately, no drugs that had been found to work on my type of cancer.  My first bout of cancer was in 2010.  It came back after 7 years.  Fortunately, after long, complicated surgeries and several months of  chemo both times, I was found to have no evidence of disease both times. I had been diagnosed with stage IVb Uterine Serous Papillary Carcinoma, which is the highest stage there is, when I was first diagnosed in 2010.  I had Carboplatin and Taxol the first time around.  Seven years later, I had Carboplatin and Gemzar.  When I had an allergic reaction to Carboplatin after having had it 11 times, I had Cisplatin substituted for the Carboplatin for my very last chemo.  A year later now, I just got another CT scan and I still have no evidence of disease.

As pinky104 says...Carboplatin and Paclitaxel or Carbo/Taxol are the two chemo drugs that that give.  I had 6 treatments of it every 21 days.  Before the treatment starts they do give you different shots of histamines, a defense mechanism your body employs to fight off allergens, like benadyl, one to help with nausea, etc.  They give those shots first wait awhile then start with the chemo on slow drip to make sure you do not have a reaction to the medicine.  Once they see you are not going to have one, they up the speed.  The first treatment took me the whole day at the cancer center.  The next ones after that still seem to take a long time but was only about 5-6 horus instead of 8 hour day.  I did not have any genetic testing on my tumor so I was just lucky I guess that so far the Carbo/Taxol has worked.  I also did not have any radiation, my dr chose to save that if it returned.  There again I have been lucky.  I never say I am in remission, just NED.  Wishing you all the best. trish

Skshello,

You of course are making a very personal decision based on your values, situation, diagnosis and what you understand about treatment options and quality and quantity of life. 

My heart breaks for you....

Lori