Blood Tests, Chemo, and More Blood Tests

Well my mom has taken a slew of blood tests....she goes every week.  Tomorrow she begins the chemo...the standard treatment...the taxol and carbo something or other. From what I understand, she will be there 5 hours.

Then, more blood tests.  I guess by the 2nd treatment they will know if its working based on the blood tests and CA-125 levels?

The thing is...if this works, will it stay away for awhile?  If it comes back, will the same treatment work?  Do they use a new drug combo or what?

If the CA-125 goes down is that considered remission? Or is remission when the levels stay down AFTER the 6 sessions of chemo are completed?

My  mom just turned 75 - it would be great if she could at least make it to her 80th birthday.  Im pushing for 85 but at this point, lets start with 80.

She's very brave and her spirits remain high.  The family went out to dinner the other night.  She got dressed up and fixed herself up  nice.  You would NEVER know by looking at her that night that she recently had a complete hysterectomy.

Keep up the good work mom!

[brthbbs]

The first two chemo's are dicey--they won't know how your mother reacts to the chemo until they start.  My first took 9 hours because I had an immediate reaction, the second and third took 5 hours and the 4th only 3 hours.  My doc has been recommending a follow up of 6 more chemo's of Taxol after the initial 6 are done, but I'm not sure I want to do that, not immediately anyway, but then my diagnosis was stage II only because of the fact that the ovarian cysts were adherent to the abdominal wall, otherwise everything else was clean.  From what I've read it seems that the 5 year mark is what to keep track of in terms of recurrance.  Good luck to her and make sure she gets something for the bone pain she may experience after the chemo.

[ConcernedInNY]

Well she was already given pills to take BEFORE the chemo to help prevent any adverse allergic reactions to it.  Also, since its the first time, the doctor will be right there with her to keep a close eye on how she is doing.  To be honest, I expect her to do fine.  Im just praying that these treatments work.

She said she cant wait to get started...she wants to have her treatments and put it all behind her.  She has a great attitude and I hope that nudges her chances up a few notches.

[CindiSue]

I am glad your Mom is getting started with her healing. You also sound the best ever.... I hope you have found some peace with the situation. You sound ready for positive outcomes now. GOOD FOR YOU!   Cindi

[ConcernedInNY]

Ive had a few talks with my mom.  I comment about how brave she is.  She says youd be surprised because in a situation like this, you really have no choice.  But still, she is one brave lady.

I just want these treatments to work so badly.  The doc DID say the treatment is very effective against this type of cancer.  But I still dont understand that if the stats are so poor.

[toothfairyp]

Get her a bottle of Biotene mouthrinse in the dental section of the grocery store. Helps prevent mouth sores. VERY IMPORTANT. Just remember being anxious will not help her. Thank GOD you are grown up. There are women on this site who have young dependent children. Be grateful.

[ConcernedInNY]

Anyone have answers to my original post?  Today is the first chemo session.

[Barney22]

I'll have a go at answering your questions.  I had taxol/carboplatin last year for 6 cycles and after the treatment was regarded as being in remission because my CA125 had dropped to within the normal range ie 0-35.  Women are classified  according to their response to the carboplatin drug (platinum refractory, sensitive, resistant - if you want the details I can post them) ie how far the carbo works and the time it takes before relapse.  Although many women (70%?) have successful initial responses about 50% of these relapse within 2 years and some within a few months depending on the platinum response - see above.  That's essentially one of the main reasone why the stats are depressing.  I lasted just over 6 months and have been put back on taxol/carbo for another 6 cycles as it worked well for me the first time.  If you relapse under 6 months they usually recommend an alternative drug for a 2nd round - maybe Doxil, although others are available - they don't have such high response rates (another reason for the poor figures) as taxol/carbo unfortunately but they are now around.  

Taxol is regarded as very toxic although effective and for those  women who can't tolerate it they can go on to carboplatin alone or combined with another drug.  The pre meds are pretty effective in reducing side effects but as someone said its certainly no cake walk!  I do hope your mother copes OK with it.  Most of us find days 3-6 the most difficult when you just want to curl up and die especially the first cycle (my experience but not everyone's)  For me it gets a lot better after the first cycle although one isn't exactly 'well'.  

Does this answer your queries?  If I've left anything out I'll get back to you.  Best wishes  Jenny

[Barney22]

I should have made it clear that the 3 classifications (resistant etc) are the women who relapse, not the 2 year non-relapsers.  I hope my post wasn't too hard for you to hear?  I need to know the reality of my situation but not everyone does and I can understand that.  Your mum may well be one of the lucky 50% - it's a good big number!

[ConcernedInNY]

I guess platinum sensitive is what we're going for?

[milashka]

I just had my 5th treatment taxol/carbo. I felt the weakest after No.1 (3 weeks out of surgery) but No.4 was the hardest. The others were very tolerable, No.5 the easiest of all, thanks to the drugs they give you before and to take home. But everyone is soooo different. Don't be shy asking about pain med or to have the nausea med changed. For me, luckily, everything worked right off the bat...maybe No.6 will really kick me down. I have met women that sail through it and even work the entire time (something I could NOT do), and some have more problems. Time will tell. Trust the chemo nurses, they are very experienced.

They give anti-allergy meds before each treatment (benadryl, steroids) in case of an allergic reaction to Taxol, which 20% of the women have. The first time they left a shot on my table to inject in case I still react. I didn't. The next time the shot did not even come out. As for the Carbo, they told me the reactions come after the 7th or 8th treatment...one of the reasons why they stop at 6.

For me, every treatment lasted 5 hours, plus 1 hour for the pre-meds and the sticking.

As you noticed, there will be a lot of bloodtests, I have two in-between treatments, each and every time. They need to know how the blood is doing and are doing the tumor marker to monitor the response.

And I guess they call it remission if there is no sign of cancer after the treatments. How do they know? Tumor marker and CT scan or possibly second look surgery.

How long the remission will last is a question no one can answer. They ususally check up on it every 3 months.

As barney22 said, the drugs used for recurrences depend on how soon it recurs. Quite a few women seem to be treated with Abraxine (as a study) which is approved for breast cancer but not yet for ovarian cancer. Gemzar is another rising star on the chemo sky. My doc said not to panic if it recurs, it's not a death sentence, they can keep treating it.

I had my mom with me for my first treatment which was a great help. She couldnt do much - it's the nurses that work on you - but her presence meant so much because like you and your mom, I was nervous, not knowing what to expect.

Good luck and keep us posted...curious to see how she's doing. She seems to have the right attitude.

[ConcernedInNY]

Milashka, thank you for posting your experiences.  There are just so many brave women on this forum who are nice enough to share their stories.  Its helps, but I admit Im still afraid.  My mom is doing so incredibly well emotionally...I hope that will make all the difference in the world.

[kathy o]

I say , lets get her through the first one and the second one, and then you can see how her  body reacts to it. Carbo / Taxol is very effective, but can be brutal to the body. My case is very similar to Jenny's (Barney). The women that I know who are OC survivors are women in your Moms age group, so I look at this as encouraging, one is almost a year out and going in for Heart Surgery. I am so sorry that you and your family are going through this but you will all be strong for her. Your Mom will be tired and want to probably stay in bed, I get up because I do not have a TV in my bedroom. I know its hard not to worry about things but right now these Chemos will be enough for you all to handle. Give  Mom a hug  every day! Some people think that we don't want to be touched but YES we do want a hug!! Physical touch is important. Hope to hear from you soon.

[Barney22]

Yes, that's the one where relapse is 12 months or more.  Actually you want to be in none of those groups because then relapse doesn't happen within 2 years!  I'm 'partially platinum sensitive' as my relapse was between 6 and 12 months.  Saw your other posting - hope your mum does well and copes OK with the next few days.  Keep the bowels open as they used to say (!) - not as easy as you might think, but it will happen when the pre meds wear off, and get her to drink water to keep hydrated.  Cheers Jenny

[ConcernedInNY]

My moms CA-125 was in the 500's pre surgery...I dont know where its at now.  Assuming she goes into remission with these treatments....will it happen before the 6th session is complete?  Or is it a more gradual process to get the CA-125 below 30?  Assuming she goes into remission thats the first step and then her chances are good she wont fall into one of those 3 groups and can go 2 or more years without a recurrence?

The doc told me...50% chance she goes into remission...and of those 50%, about 60% NEVER have a recurrence...making the long term survival rate 30%...does that sound right?  Im thinking long term meaning over 5 years?

Thanks.

[Barney22]

I wouldn't get too hung up on the precise CA125 numbers - everyone's different.  We all swap numbers to cheer ourselves but they aren't terribly meaningful I understand. Although the aim is to get into the normal range some women don't get there until a few months after chemo or not at all but it's normal for them and the cancer isn't developing.  Others quickly move into the normal zone after say 3 cycles.  They still have to finish the course unless they are reacting badly.  The important thing is the direction of travel of the CA125 - they look to see if it is going down after the 2nd chemo particularly.  This means it is being effective.  If it doesn't go down then they will be looking at other chemo drugs probably.  Hope this makes sense!

[milashka]

My tumor marker was 946 pre-op, dropped to 258 pre-chemo (3 weeks later), to 68 after the first chemo and into normal range at 19 after second chemo. A quick response according to my doc but as far as I know it doesn't mean I'm good to go for the next two years.

[zanybird]

Hi
My mum, 67 years old, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer this Feb...and her CA125 was way below normal...hardly a blip on the screen......she had her ovaries out and there is cancer on the spleen and liver and has just had her second round of chemo....her hair has just started to fall out...and she has had a portacath put in (i believe her veins were hard to find) My dad sends me copies of her blood tests (I live in USA - they live in AUSTRALIA)  and he has never mentioned a TUMOR MARKER or another CA125 test.....  What is a tumor marker test - I mean is it a blood test?
Thanks in advance
Shazz