Gemzar??

StaceyEle
StaceyEle Member Posts: 12
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
Hello Ladies,
Well my mom's number was down to 110 and not moving after carbo/toxil. Her onc let her rest and it started climbing again. They tried etoposide and then topotecan with avastin. It seemed like it slowed it down but just last week we nearly had a heart attack when the number went up to 5400.... He is switching her to gemzar and keeping her on the avastin. Does anyone have some advice on this drug? My mom is only 57, I cannot believe this is happening to her. Your thoughts have really helped her in the past.
Thank you so much for anything and everything,
Stacey

Comments

  • mopar
    mopar Member Posts: 1,972 Member
    #2
    Stacey:
    Sorry your Mom's had such a jump in numbers. I'm not familiar with Gemzar, but I'm sure Bonnie and some others can offer their personal insight.

    I will send luv and hugs and prayers in the meantime.

    Monika
  • aussie59
    aussie59 Member Posts: 48
    #3
    Stacey,

    I am doxil at the present time my CA125 after the first treatment double from approx 1200 to approx 2400 after the second treatment went to aprox 4900 two weeks later It went to 3200. I had my third treatment last Friday and I will not know the results for another 3 weeks. The reason I am telling you this is because the theory is that Doxil in particular because of the dead tumour cells that it is creating it can push The CA125 substantially up. We believe that the doxil is working and we need to wait until we have a few more treatments and see the trends. My CT scan a month ago showed no significant increase in tumour mass. This may also apply to your mothers chemo regime. I would run this theory past your onc and see what his thoughts on it are. Hoping the high number is indicative of plenty of dead cell activity. Irene
  • lindachris
    lindachris Member Posts: 173
    #4
    No expert here either, but my wife is on a combination Cisplatin/Gemzar regimen of two weeks on, one week off and there has been a corresponding drop in CA-125. However I've read that much of this is individual and dependent on how specific cancer cells respond to the drugs. So sometimes it seems that switching up the drug is necessary because different cancer treatments attack the growing cells in different ways, and sometimes at different points in the growth cycle, etc. My wife right now experiences dropping red and white blood cell counts but a regimen of Aranesp and Neulasta may be stabilizing that. I don't know which drug affects her blood. Our job is to get from treatment to treatment and keep the counts up and the bugs away (like colds and flu) when WBC counts are down.
  • paula2
    paula2 Member Posts: 162
    #5
    Stacey, Everyone responds differently to these drugs, but I was lucky to get 6 mos. of lowered numbers and no tumor growth. (ca125 down to 21), and then had a reaction to chemo. I've heard of even better results tho', so think positive and I pray it works for your Mom.
  • floridajo
    floridajo Member Posts: 480
    #6
    Hello,
    Boy it sounds like your Mom has been through alot already,I'll be saying prayers for her.
    About Gemzar....I just finished 5 cycles (3 weeks on 1 week off), and it lowered my numbers immediately. The first cycle I needed some Neulasta shots. In the 5th cycle I had terrible side effects from the chemo and steriods,which caused my Onc to stop all treatments for 12 weeks.My ca-125 was normal 14.9,but I was too weak to continue the last cycle. I also had about 4 procrit shots after the last cycle. Watch for edema....it started with my ankles, and was ok for the next 4 cycles,but at the 5th cycle I started to hold alot of fluid in my face,hands,ankles,feet and calves. Also my B/P started to spike very high,plus I was gaining at least 2 lbs every week. I found it an easy drug to tolerate, and I didn't have alot of down time,so I'll be praying that it works well for your Mom...(((hugz)))..Joanne
  • StaceyEle
    StaceyEle Member Posts: 12
    #7
    Thank you all so much for you experiences!! I will pass these messages onto my mom. Happy holidays to you all! My sister and I are making sure that our mother stays positive, hopefully this will be the drug that works. I wish a happy and healthy new year to you all and you are also in my prayers!
    Stacey

Discussion Boards