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OVCA Recurrence- treatment questions

My wife's originally dx was in 2000. Stage IIc full hystorectomy treated with Taxol/Carbo. Recurrence Nov. 2006. 3.5 x 3cm tumor in sigmoid colon. 36cm resection of colon. No other mets, no lymph involment.
Began chemo taxol/carbo in Jan. Second treament had allergic response to Carbo. 2 Dr.s recomended continuing with Taxol alone. The onc she is seeing thinks that she should recieve combo drug therapy to assure better survival. He has continued her on Taxol @ 21days, and added Gemzar day 1 and day 8. She reacted with a fever the first night home, and now has a rash covering her thighs with some anal involvment.

I have many, many questions!
Do you have an opinon on using Taxol/Gemzar?
Will this rash mean she will no longer be able to tolerate the Gemzar?
Are there any other therapies/chemo we should be aware of?
What alternative/CAM treatments are worthy of invetigation?

Thank you,
Bill
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577974 tn?1232522774
Hi there,

I'm not sure if you will get a response from "freshair" as she hasn't posted since March of this year...

You might like to start a new thread with your questions about Vit C Infusions as I believe there are a few ladies that have either taken it or looked into it. Starting a new thread usually attracts more attention and hopefully you will get some responses when more of the ladies come back on line.

Good luck to you...Janet
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Did you ever do the Vitamin C infusions with Michael Anne McAllister??
How are you doing?
Kelly
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Avatar universal
My name is Kelly LaDuke and I just read your email about
MichaelAnne McCalister's vitamin C.  How are you doing?
Are you still taking the infusions with her?
How much are you doing?
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Avatar universal

Hello Freshair,

I get my chemo on Monday and Tuesday and Friday I go and get Vitamin C.  The vitamin C drip takes between 40 minutes to an hours.  Yes I was talking about Jefferson in Philadelphia, but I don't go there I anymore because it is to expensive.  I figured if Jefferson U is doing something like this it must work.  The only problem right now is it is out of pocket expense.  It is hard to get the insurance company to pay for this.  I wish the FDA would look into the vitamin C and approve it for insurance but I guess it will be down road.  So I found a place called IVC Infusions her name is Michael Anne McAllister, RN and you can call her and she will give you the name and phone numbers of Doctors who do this around you she has a book with lots of names.  I know she help my friend in Florida who's Mother has breast cancer and was not doing very well she just started the Vitamin C.  Here is her phone number 610-446-5020, I hope this will help.  Diane
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Avatar universal
Diane,

Is it Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia. Do you get the vitamin C from a nurse at the hospital? If you do-you're very lucky! I think I would have to go to a private (alternative, complimentary) doctor. I'm in the New York area and it seems that New York can be "too against" alternatives. (as far as hospitals)

I've been looking into the Vitamin C for awhile. I take it by supplement powder but know that IV is better. Dr. Drisko has had good results with it in Kansas (with ovarian).

How wonderful that the masses disappeared in a short time.

I am going to make phone calls tomorrow. You got me going!


Thanks,
Helen


One more question--when you do the Vitamin C drip how long does it take?  And also when you do chemo that week (which I am doing) how is you drip scheduled around chemo? Day before? Couple days after?
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Avatar universal
Hello freshair,

The post was to you sorry but my friend Helen called and I typed in her name instead of you.  Sorry about that.
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Avatar universal

Hello Helen,

I will try to make this short.  But in the begin of December my PET/CT scan showed to large masses, 7.1 x 4.7cm and 3.2 x 2.9 in my pelvis area plus other spots on my liver lungs but nothing in my major organs cancer was everywhere.  That was when they only gave me 5 to 6 months to live.  My oncolgist said I was chemo resistance and should do Avastin which my insurance company would not pay for.  I waited 6 six weeks to be denied at which time I kept reading the forum. So on Dec 26, 2006 I started weekly Taxol and on December 11 I had start vitamin C with an Integrative medicine doctor at Jeffson University Hospital at that time I could only afford to do the vitamin C  once a week.  But then I found this nurse which calls herself the Walmart of Vitamin C and does the same thing at half the price or what you can afford. So on January 11, 2007 I started vitamin C twice a week.  My oncologist at fist asked me to wait and I told her anything good going into my body can't be bad for me I am doing it.  The Vitamin C lady I call her started me out with 30 grams twice a week for three treatments, then I went to 50 grams twice a week for three treatments and now I do 75 grams twice a week.  My number are really starting to drop now.  So I am now thinking of doing 50 grams every other day to keep my number dropping fast. My goal is to have a clean PET/CT scan in the next three months. I have to tell you I really didn't know if this was going to work, I was hoping for the miracle drug to come out. I didn't want to die, the only thing I could think of was in 5 to 6 months I would not be around for my 25th wedding anniversary. But this Vitamin C thing really seems to be doing the job and I have hope again. I am the first person at my cancer center who is doing this and I must say both my oncologist and oncologist/gyn don't believe the results either.  They just couldn't believe that both my masses are gone completely gone.  But I believe between the chemo and vitamin C I have had great results and even the people I have met have great stories to tell about their cancer too.  Even our News sport guy Gary Popa goes to her he had prostrate cancer three years ago and his numbers were going up so after 6 six weeks of vitamin C his numbers went down lower they they were before.  6ABC news did a piece on the vitamin C and cancer you can find on the website.  Just type in vitamin c and cancer and lots of information will come up.  I wish I knew about this three years ago when I started fighting ovarian cancer. Take care and my thoughts and prayer are with everyone and I will post for all to see.  Diane



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Avatar universal
Hi Diane,

I'm on weekly Taxol also. That's wonderful about your cat scan!! Congratulations. You should post it for all to see!!!! How long have you been on it? I've been on it for about 3-1/2 months? Did it bring your counts down? Mine have been coming down slowly. Wanted to go for a gentler treatment and I have hardly any side effects. I am a little nervous about a cat scan in a few weeks.

Also how much vitamin C do you get? Is it from a ACAM doctor? What did your oncologist say when you told them you were going to do this?

Please post your success!

Helen
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Avatar universal
I am sorry to hear about your wife.  But I have been battling my recurrence for over 10 months.  I was on Doxil, topotecan both which did not work for me. So at the end December 2006 I started weekly Taxol plus I started high doses of vitamin C which I get IVC infusions twice a week.  I just got a PET/CT scan done on Thursday and the two large masses I had in my pelvis area are gone completely gone.  So I believe that working on your immune system to keep it healthy is a good thing to do. Everything I read said if you have a healthy immune system you can help fight your cancer.  My doctors will not give any credit to the vitamin C infusion but after they told me in December I would not live much past 5 to 6 months, because of the one mass that was attached to my bladder would just end my life. I have hope once again I can get this under control, now the Doctors are puzzles that both masses are gone.  I still have cancer that the PET scan lighted up but the CT scan doesn't find any cancer.  So all my measurable cancer is gone.  Thanks to Jayoo for his post of Weekly Taxol back in December and everyone on this forum for all the great information everyone provides.  Good luck and prayer to everyone.
Diane B
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Avatar universal
I've used essiac tea. The alcohol tincture one. I do that when I'm off chemo. It's also good for the liver.

Other things that are good----AHCC mushrooms, Reishi and Maitake mushrooms. Vitamin D-1000 a day. Turmeric, bromelain, IP6, Milk thistle, grape seed extract, resveratrol, vitamin C.

I would certainly take sublingual B12 and B50 with chemo. And vitamin D, mushrooms and glutamine (mentioned above).

Load up on all vegies including dandelion greens, lemon water. Keep refined carbos and sugar low--they also drain the body of energy.

These are all things you can think about. Do they help. Who knows. I believe in trying!

There are days when we are not feeling good after chemo and crackers and whatever you can eat is what has to be done.
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Avatar universal
Sorry to hear of your wife's recurrence. Having that much time in remission must have been so good. But then so heartbreaking when it came back.

There are a lot of second line drugs. Taxol, Carbo, Gemzar, Doxil, Topotecan. I am on a Taxol now. Your oncologist has added Gemzar to it. That sounds good. With this disease some women get good results with some of these chemos and others don't. My oncologist may add something to my Taxol also.

I'm not sure of the rash or fever. You could post a question "Anyone use the combination Taxol with Gemzar".

Can I ask what happened when your wife had a reaction to Carboplatin?

Best of luck.
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114870 tn?1210298346
I heard essaic tea works great.  Very popular in europe to treat cancer.
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Avatar universal
CAM:  Maitake D-Fraction (Griffin Pro version) therapudic dose (www.maitake.com).  Also look into Glutamine supplementation.
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