Hi There
she should definitely get genetic testing
The prognosis is usually better for women with BRCA related ovarian cancer
Unfortunately, there are not any great medications to help boost the platelets.
I usually consult a hematologist who specializes in bone marrow problems in situations like this. You should ask your sister's doctor about that
best wishes
Thanks for your reply
She does not have any medical conditions.Apart from low platelet count and low wbc count, she can sleep, eat,no vomiting,no hair loss during last chemo. Any possibile reasons cause low platelet count on her first line chemo?
Actually,my uncle got breast cancer and my dad got cancer too. If my sis really got those genes ,does it mean it is harder to cure if she got cancer ?
Lastly, are there anything we could do to improve the platele count to help her finish this chemo ?
Thanks again
Dera Jean,
I am so sorry to hear about your sister. That is a very scary situation. Do you have information on the exact type of cancer that she has?
for instance is it an adenocarcinoma (which is in the category of epithelial ovarian cancer)? or a germ cell tumor? or a sarcoma?
It is very unusual to see a cancer return within a month of finishing chemotherapy.
I am not familiar with how the health system works in Hong Kong. Is it possible to get a second opinion?
Topotecan is a well known drug for recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (adenocarcinomas such as the subtype serous - this is the most common subtype)
However the leading side effect of topotecan is dropping the blood counts and one of the blood count components is the platelets.
It is also very unusual for a 27 year old on first line chemotherapy to have low platelets.
Does your sister have any other medical conditions such as malnutirtion, hepatitis, HIV, or other infections?
Finally, have other family members had breast, uterine, or ovarian cancer? Age 27 is very young to get epithelial ovarian cancer. Could your family have a genetic risk of getting these caners? if so, other family members such as yourself should be checked by pelvic ultrasound. Your sister should have gene testing to look for a mutation that is hereditary.
I have pasted a few links for you to look at.
best wishes
http://www.ovarian.org/types_and_stages.php
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/BRCA
http://www.chemocare.com/bio/topotecan.asp