Maintenance chemo

My mom completed her 6th cycle of Carbo/Taxol yesterday. She underwent Neoadjuvant chemo for 3 cycles then had her surgery.  She was optimally debulked with no macroscopic disease left behind.  She then completed the remaining 3 cycles of Carbo/Taxol.  Her CA125 prior to the start of her 6th cycle was 17.  We are now in the process of finalizing the best maintenance approach for her.

Due to the extensiveness of her surgery she was not given any chemo through her IP port.  This was reserved for her maintenance.  

A couple of months back her case was discussed with Dr Maurie Markman of MD Anderson and was decided that she be put on 3 cycles of IP single agent Cisplatin after the completion of her 6 IV cycles. Yesterday we spoke with Dr Deborah Armstrong of John Hopkinson and she suggested 16 weekly IP cycles of Taxol.

Does anyone here have any experience with either of these regimes?

-OVCIndia

[crecco]

Yes, I also had chemo before surgery, but had the full 6 rounds plus 2 more. 6 weeks after surgery I was started on Taxol for maintenance. the plan was to stay on it for 12 months, but it stopped working, my CA started rising so I was switched to Doxil. My case is a little different as I was told I would be on chemo for the rest of my life and have been for 2 1/2 years now. When one stops we move on to something else. There seems to be mixed emotions about how people feel about maintenance chemo. Though I was not excited about having to continue chemo, it worked out for the best for me.
  You do not say what stage your mom was dx at. This seems to be aimed at women in the more advanced stages, as once it has spread then the chances of microscopic cells floating around are much higher. That is what the maintenance is used for, staying ahead of the microscopic stuff so it does not get a chance to take off again, in other words to keep it under control.
  Don't know if I helped much but thought I would tell you my experience with maintenance chemo. I hope that your mom is well on the road to recovery and that all goes well for her.
   Chris

[OVCIndia]

Thanks Chris,

She was staged at III C.  The reason they are talking abt maintainance chemo is that she had a very extensive surgery.  They had to reconstruct her abdomen using a mesh.  The surgeons say that it is very unlikely that any surgeon will operate on her for the next 1 1/2 years.  So they want to make sure she is in remission for that period.

-OVCIndia.

[Conquerer]

i haven't heard of 16 ip chemo  only iv  sorry can't help.  but i do know there are many ways to go after this creature  good luck   i had 6 ip cisplatin and 3 ip taxol  with additional iv 6 cycles taxetere  we are all a little different.
good luck

[survivor_susie]

Hi,
I have a friend diagnosed with stage IIIC ovca.  She did 6 chemo treatments, and then decided to do another year of taxol.
That was 8 years ago.  She's alive and *very* healthy.
Everyone is different, but know that some folks have very good luck with maintenance chemo.
Best of luck to your mom.