Bad news

megbrorn
megbrorn Member Posts: 13
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
My mother in law has recurrent OC. She just finished 6 rounds of Carbo/Taxol. One tumor shrunk to "not visable" and the other went down 70%. Now they want to do a monthly dose of Taxol. She still has "considerable disease burden" on her CT. The chemo really wiped her out and she is now having back/joint pain that has her wondering if it is all worth it. She soesn't know if she could do more chemo. I am going to speak with the MD today to see if we can relieve some of her pain/depression about this. I was wondering if anyone else has had this kind of news and some other treatment ideas. Thanks. Reading these stories does help. We hope that we can have some good quality time with her, not just time.

Comments

  • ashuma1
    ashuma1 Member Posts: 12
    #2
    I am sorry to hear that your MIL's ovarian cancer did not respond completely to initial treatment. From your message, it sounds like she has refractory disease -- not really a recurrence, as it sounds like her tumors have never gone completely. If that is correct, I really question why the doctor would even recommend continued treatment with one of the drugs she took that did not work completely. Especially with monthly dose of Taxol. That is usually given as Consolidation treatment for those who have had a complete initial response to Taxol and Carbo treatments. Is your MIL being treated by a gynecologic oncologist? Or an oncologist who is VERY experienced with treating ovarian cancer patients. I question that by what he/she is suggesting. I have recurrence ovarian cancer. Mine responded very well to inital treatment and I had no visible cancer remaining after initial treatment. Then I was on monthly Taxol which was not a difficult regiment at all. Much easier to take. But I did recur anyway within 5 months of completing 12 monthly Taxol treatments. I was put on another chemo and had a very good response. Hopefully your MIL will be able to tolerate another chemo regimen which will bring better results. Best of luck.
  • megbrorn
    megbrorn Member Posts: 13
    #3
    ashuma1 said:

    I am sorry to hear that your MIL's ovarian cancer did not respond completely to initial treatment. From your message, it sounds like she has refractory disease -- not really a recurrence, as it sounds like her tumors have never gone completely. If that is correct, I really question why the doctor would even recommend continued treatment with one of the drugs she took that did not work completely. Especially with monthly dose of Taxol. That is usually given as Consolidation treatment for those who have had a complete initial response to Taxol and Carbo treatments. Is your MIL being treated by a gynecologic oncologist? Or an oncologist who is VERY experienced with treating ovarian cancer patients. I question that by what he/she is suggesting. I have recurrence ovarian cancer. Mine responded very well to inital treatment and I had no visible cancer remaining after initial treatment. Then I was on monthly Taxol which was not a difficult regiment at all. Much easier to take. But I did recur anyway within 5 months of completing 12 monthly Taxol treatments. I was put on another chemo and had a very good response. Hopefully your MIL will be able to tolerate another chemo regimen which will bring better results. Best of luck.

    I think that she is going to take a break from the chemo and not try the monthly Taxol. She is really wiped out. She is being treated by a medical oncologist/gynecologic oncologist. She was treated the first time with carbo/taxol becasue the surgeon thought he had removed it all surgically and this was just a prophalaxis dose. It reoccurred then 23 months later, so the oncologist said she was platinum sensitive. So that is why he chose the carbo/taxol regimine again. If the cancer comes back within the next few months, he will probably enroll her in a clinical trial. What worked for you? She doesn't know how much more she can take.

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