Chemo tomorrow & 1st CA125 since I started carboplatin

MoeKay said:

Terrific News!
Hi Linda,

That's really terrific news about the significant drop in your CA-125!! I'm so happy for you.

I'm sorry about the low platelets, but I'm thinking outloud that perhaps the brief delay and fractionated dose in receiving your carbo may work in your favor to keep you from developing an allergic reaction to the drug??

Maureen

lindaprocopio said:

My GOOD (wonderful!) news and my bad news....
FIRST THE GOOD NEWS: My CA125 dropped 60 points! It's still in the 200's, but this is the first labs in FOREVER where my CA125 went DOWN, so I am very optimistic that carboplatin will get my cancer back under control! I needed this little ray of hope so badly and I'm so happy for this blessing!

NOW THE BAD NEWS: The bad news (which still can't overshadow the GOOD news in my mind) is that I was unable to get my chemo today because my platelets took a dive to 10,000. So I ended up getting a platelet transfusion today instead. (a bag of platelets looks like a bad of yellow snot, by the way). We scheduled another blood lab and carboplatin at 1/3 strength for next Thursday, and are going to try fractionating the carboplatin and I'll get this chemo weekly at 1/3 strength and see if that will be enough for me to be able to safely get the treatments. It would suck if I found something that appears to be working and my body wasn't strong enough to tolerate it. When I got taxol fractionated-&-weekly it made it an easy chemo, so I'm hoping the fractionated carbo dosage will be easy too. We will see.

My chemo oncologist is so funny. He came running back to the chemo lounge when I was getting my transfusion, all smiles, with my good CA125 news. With him, "no news is bad news", and he always makes me phone to get my test results when they aren't good. But he LOVES to deliver GOOD news and always does that personally. I guess I'd be like that if I were an oncologist, for my own sanity. Anyway, it's been a LONG time since he's had good news to deliver to me and he almost skipped on his way to tell me, sincerely happy for me.

1 tidbit of knowledge I picked up today to share: If you get repeated platelet transfusions, your body will start to reject the platelets, so platelet transfusions have to be saved for really low low counts. He said he'd never make it a routine practice of giving me regular platelet transfusions just so I can stay on carboplatin; we'd try fractionating or lowering the dosage or adding in extra days between infusions, or even change chemo drugs, before he would give me monthly platelet transfusions just so I could stay on carbo.

I'll let you all know if I'm able to get my chemo next week. Your support and posts help me more than you can know, THANK YOU ALL! So it looks like I won't be feeling post-chemo yukky for New Years Eve and better get to the store for champagne and pork-and-saurkraut for a little celebration with my man!

lindaprocopio said:

Couldn't get chemo AGAIN this week because platelets so low!!
Last week when I went to get my 2nd infusion of carboplatin (really my 8th counting the 6 carbo/taxol I had in 2008/2009), my labs showed my platelets at a VERY dangerous 10,000 and I had to get a platelet transfusion instead of my chemo. So we re-scheduled chemo for today, and planned on me getting the carboplatin at 1/3 strength and every week instead of every 3 weeks at full strength.

So, this morning I went in for my pre-chemo labs and my platelets are still only 45,000, less than half the 100,000 they need to be to get chemo. So I'm back home again with no chemo in me, and an appointment next week to get new labs and a consultation to come up with a new strategy if my platelets don't rebound in a huge way. (I think they may try Gemzar next). I'll phone tomorrow to get my CA125 from this morning, just out of curiosity to see if carbo is worth fighting for if it gives me a further number drop.)

I'm SOOOOO frustrated that my bone marrow is no longer strong enough to tolerate the 1st drug that really seems to be working and actually dropped my CA125!! There is a lot to be said for taking a 'watch and wait' attitude to chemo apparently, as it does you no good to take constant chemo to keep your cancer under control if you ruin your bone marrow doing that, and then can't get powerful chemo drugs when you need them.

So that's how I am looking at this. I am being forced to take a little break from chemo; my body is trying to tell me something. So I get another week off. And instead of feeling post-carbo yukky this afternoon, I feel physically great! & I'm going to try and live in the moment and enjoy this extra week of feeling good and not worry about something I can't control.

lindaprocopio said:

Couldn't get chemo AGAIN this week because platelets so low!!
Last week when I went to get my 2nd infusion of carboplatin (really my 8th counting the 6 carbo/taxol I had in 2008/2009), my labs showed my platelets at a VERY dangerous 10,000 and I had to get a platelet transfusion instead of my chemo. So we re-scheduled chemo for today, and planned on me getting the carboplatin at 1/3 strength and every week instead of every 3 weeks at full strength.

So, this morning I went in for my pre-chemo labs and my platelets are still only 45,000, less than half the 100,000 they need to be to get chemo. So I'm back home again with no chemo in me, and an appointment next week to get new labs and a consultation to come up with a new strategy if my platelets don't rebound in a huge way. (I think they may try Gemzar next). I'll phone tomorrow to get my CA125 from this morning, just out of curiosity to see if carbo is worth fighting for if it gives me a further number drop.)

I'm SOOOOO frustrated that my bone marrow is no longer strong enough to tolerate the 1st drug that really seems to be working and actually dropped my CA125!! There is a lot to be said for taking a 'watch and wait' attitude to chemo apparently, as it does you no good to take constant chemo to keep your cancer under control if you ruin your bone marrow doing that, and then can't get powerful chemo drugs when you need them.

So that's how I am looking at this. I am being forced to take a little break from chemo; my body is trying to tell me something. So I get another week off. And instead of feeling post-carbo yukky this afternoon, I feel physically great! & I'm going to try and live in the moment and enjoy this extra week of feeling good and not worry about something I can't control.

lindaprocopio said:

Couldn't get chemo AGAIN this week because platelets so low!!
Last week when I went to get my 2nd infusion of carboplatin (really my 8th counting the 6 carbo/taxol I had in 2008/2009), my labs showed my platelets at a VERY dangerous 10,000 and I had to get a platelet transfusion instead of my chemo. So we re-scheduled chemo for today, and planned on me getting the carboplatin at 1/3 strength and every week instead of every 3 weeks at full strength.

So, this morning I went in for my pre-chemo labs and my platelets are still only 45,000, less than half the 100,000 they need to be to get chemo. So I'm back home again with no chemo in me, and an appointment next week to get new labs and a consultation to come up with a new strategy if my platelets don't rebound in a huge way. (I think they may try Gemzar next). I'll phone tomorrow to get my CA125 from this morning, just out of curiosity to see if carbo is worth fighting for if it gives me a further number drop.)

I'm SOOOOO frustrated that my bone marrow is no longer strong enough to tolerate the 1st drug that really seems to be working and actually dropped my CA125!! There is a lot to be said for taking a 'watch and wait' attitude to chemo apparently, as it does you no good to take constant chemo to keep your cancer under control if you ruin your bone marrow doing that, and then can't get powerful chemo drugs when you need them.

So that's how I am looking at this. I am being forced to take a little break from chemo; my body is trying to tell me something. So I get another week off. And instead of feeling post-carbo yukky this afternoon, I feel physically great! & I'm going to try and live in the moment and enjoy this extra week of feeling good and not worry about something I can't control.

maggie_wilson said:

linda, darn those low platelet numbers
here's hoping your platelets rebound, as they should, and you'll be back on the chemo that has been lowering your ca 125. it's just one trial after the other..... i believe the platelets will be soon up to snuff, you'll be able to take the fractionated carbo, and it will work. i honestly believe this. i have always had faith in your overall health and well being, and despite the temporary setbacks, you will prevail.

it makes me glad that you will be able to enjoy the weeks off chemo and feel good doing so. there's no rush. let your body heal enough so that it can withstand what comes next. there are always choices, different kinds of treatment protocols, etc. in the meantime, do all the things that give you pleasure; we're all planning on seeing you through this.

love and sisterhood,
maggie