chemo delayed again

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VictoriaSF
VictoriaSF Member Posts: 165
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
my chemo delayed again... i am very concerned and upset
i had my surgery on november 15th,
doctors gave me 6 weeks to recover
went to see onco 2 days ago just to find out that my ip port was put too high and practically at the rib cage, plus i have pain in my right side.
doctor wants to have ct scan done as well as check if port even workable.
nurse called today - no ct appointment till jan 16, dr's follow up on the 19th amd chemo sometime around jan 24.
it will put me almost 10 weeks after surgery - without treatment.
it is just nerve wracking to sit and wait
is it way too long? any danger out of it?
or it is ok and i should just calm down and wait
on another hand - worry - if ip not working - i will loose chance to have it done.
pls comment

Comments

  • Lisa13Q
    Lisa13Q Member Posts: 677
    #2
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    Dear Victoria
    So sorry to hear about your issues with the chemo post surgery. I am not sure what/if any dangers there are associated with waiting longer. What does your doctor say? I know they do like to get to it. I have commented to bump this to the top of discussions in hope that some other lady has had your experience and will comment....HizyFitz had issues with her port and knows a lot about this, hopefully you'll hear from her and some others.....Prayers to you. Lisa
  • jloe
    jloe Member Posts: 174
    #3
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    Lisa13Q said:

    Dear Victoria
    So sorry to hear about your issues with the chemo post surgery. I am not sure what/if any dangers there are associated with waiting longer. What does your doctor say? I know they do like to get to it. I have commented to bump this to the top of discussions in hope that some other lady has had your experience and will comment....HizyFitz had issues with her port and knows a lot about this, hopefully you'll hear from her and some others.....Prayers to you. Lisa

    Please express your concern to your doctor
    Victoria,
    I have an IP port and have had many IP treatments over the past couple of years. I too have had several delays because of waiting for additional surgery, platelet issues and so on. I always expressed my delay concerns to my gyn/onc and he always communicated back to me and put my mind at ease. If there was any urgency, he would have changed the schedule and rushed things along. That is not to say there are times that they would have to wait because of my medical condition to change/improve for some reason. However, if it is merely a scheduling issue, I would hope that they would step in rush a scan or another test along for you. My port is also on/close to my rib cage and I have not any problems with it. They will also make sure that before the treatment it functioning properly by putting in the saline first and monitoring that closely before the chemo is put in. They will also monitor that all during the treatment until it'd finished. My biggest problem was with the first treatment. I could not handle the amount of saline so he adjusted it way back after that first one and I had no real problems after that other that some of the side effects of the chemo. Please contact the doctor to discuss the delay if you have not already done so and see if they can bump up the scan or can tell you that it's not a real problem.

    Joni
  • VictoriaSF
    VictoriaSF Member Posts: 165
    #4
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    jloe said:

    Please express your concern to your doctor
    Victoria,
    I have an IP port and have had many IP treatments over the past couple of years. I too have had several delays because of waiting for additional surgery, platelet issues and so on. I always expressed my delay concerns to my gyn/onc and he always communicated back to me and put my mind at ease. If there was any urgency, he would have changed the schedule and rushed things along. That is not to say there are times that they would have to wait because of my medical condition to change/improve for some reason. However, if it is merely a scheduling issue, I would hope that they would step in rush a scan or another test along for you. My port is also on/close to my rib cage and I have not any problems with it. They will also make sure that before the treatment it functioning properly by putting in the saline first and monitoring that closely before the chemo is put in. They will also monitor that all during the treatment until it'd finished. My biggest problem was with the first treatment. I could not handle the amount of saline so he adjusted it way back after that first one and I had no real problems after that other that some of the side effects of the chemo. Please contact the doctor to discuss the delay if you have not already done so and see if they can bump up the scan or can tell you that it's not a real problem.

    Joni

    talked to the doctor
    thank you Ladies
    i spoke with doctor last night
    she said it is ok and no harm will be done by waiting, but she wants to have everything checked before starting chemo,
    she wants to start asap and will try to prioritize ct scan next week.
    as for the port - i should hear from her on monday how it looks on scans from the surgery, when they actually put it in. and later next week i have to go and check if it is accessible and workable.
    i hope it is and i will not be without ip chemo, or it will need to be replaced
    she comforted me a bit,
    debulking was 95% during surgery,but still it is difficult just to wait knowing that there cancer left inside and who knows what is going on with it.
    i will keep you posted.
    hugs
    Victoria
  • jloe
    jloe Member Posts: 174
    #5
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    VictoriaSF said:

    talked to the doctor
    thank you Ladies
    i spoke with doctor last night
    she said it is ok and no harm will be done by waiting, but she wants to have everything checked before starting chemo,
    she wants to start asap and will try to prioritize ct scan next week.
    as for the port - i should hear from her on monday how it looks on scans from the surgery, when they actually put it in. and later next week i have to go and check if it is accessible and workable.
    i hope it is and i will not be without ip chemo, or it will need to be replaced
    she comforted me a bit,
    debulking was 95% during surgery,but still it is difficult just to wait knowing that there cancer left inside and who knows what is going on with it.
    i will keep you posted.
    hugs
    Victoria

    She sounds like she's on top of it
    I too have tumor/nodules and alsways am wondering what is going on but my doctor is treating it with chemo and would remove them if it was necessary so I've learned to live with what he says. I have kept several of my other doctors in the loop and they speak with each other and that is very comforting for me to have more sets of eyes and ears that are in the medical field. I still have moments of panic and I'm sure I always will. It's good to reach out to people that have similar experience with this and also good to keep your doctors close. Keep us posted as to how it's going.

    Joni
  • kayandok
    kayandok Member Posts: 1,202 Member
    #6
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    VictoriaSF said:

    talked to the doctor
    thank you Ladies
    i spoke with doctor last night
    she said it is ok and no harm will be done by waiting, but she wants to have everything checked before starting chemo,
    she wants to start asap and will try to prioritize ct scan next week.
    as for the port - i should hear from her on monday how it looks on scans from the surgery, when they actually put it in. and later next week i have to go and check if it is accessible and workable.
    i hope it is and i will not be without ip chemo, or it will need to be replaced
    she comforted me a bit,
    debulking was 95% during surgery,but still it is difficult just to wait knowing that there cancer left inside and who knows what is going on with it.
    i will keep you posted.
    hugs
    Victoria

    I'm glad
    that you spoke with your doctor about this. it sounds like she will try and bump up the scan so the chemo can start sooner than later? IMHO the sooner you get the chemo after debulk surgery, the better (providing the body can handle it) and that has been my experience after both debulk surgery. The first one was 7 days and the second debulk I waited 3 weeks. At the same time there are always scheduling probs to deal with (CT, blood etc). If you speak up and hold your doc team accountable they seem to be able to push past the scheduling at times, if necessary, to do what is best for the patient. But, if you don't speak up, you tend to fall between the cracks. You do have to advocate for yourself, no one else will.

    Wishing you the best,
    kathleen

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