Ovarian cancer and kidney issues

My sister learned she had ovarian cancer when she suffered kidney failure.  The cancer was at stage IIIC and they removed as much as they could surgically and then gave her a powerful combination of drugs that included taxol to knock it out in 3 months of chemo.  About a year later (this past March), she had a recurrence.  Because her kidneys were damaged by the cancer (she has one functioning one), they have been using only Taxol once a week instead of the combo every three weeks.  They learned yesterday that it is no longer working.  They are now talking about other combos of drugs that are not as punishing to kidneys.  They include doxil alone, or docetaxel plus an oral medication called something like gemsedevin.  Is there a clearinghouse of information re: women with similar issues of ovarian cancer plus kidney issues that we can consult? Anything you can tell me about the effectiveness of these drugs?  She's 63 and very frightened about all of this, as you can imagine.

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Hi There,

Here is a link to a nice website:

http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=3086

It sounds like your sister has had great care. It is really scary.  I would suggest that she asks her doctor about a referral to a kidney specialist (nephrologist) for a consultation.  That expert can review her particular situation and evaluate just how her kidneys are working.

It may be important for her to be on a special renal failure diet if her kidney is not functioning well. There are other interventions such as certain supplements to prevent the build up of acid or potassium.. It is hard to know without seeing her labs and her films but a nephrologist can help with that.

best wishes