2nd line chemo

[ingrid48]

Hello, I am new to this great community .

I am now ( Sept 2014) 66 and I reside in the US, close to DC and Baltimore, where excellent cancer hospitals and centers are.

I am very happy with my Onc. She is a wonderful Doc. and she stays very informed and since I reside near Baltimore and DC she keeps a close eye to everything happening in John Hopkins other surrounding great hospitals and centers, and their possible trials. I am Brch genetic, but i don't remember if 1 or 2

I am intrigued by all your previous posts, and in particular by some posts re. Ibuprofen or Aspirin as an add-on med to get longer remissions. ( check Eileen posts under "drdu", btw i haven't seen a post more recent then 3 mo.s and i hope she is ok, anyone in touch with her?)

I had PPC in dec 2011 and a Ca125 of 3000. Received Avastin/Taxol/CarboPlatin on first Line.( every 3 wks, six sessions) all followed by Neulasta, one to two days later, to promote white cells increase.

I always had the flu like symptoms, pains in bones, feet, etc ...for about 3 to 5 days afterwards.

Then I developed painful chemo-induced neuropathy which i continue to have..

Was put on Neurontin which diminishes the pain but still have neuropathy.

Was in remission till May 2014 when my Ca125 went from 10 to 100. My Onc had me take a Pet Scan, head to toe and they found small, pea size cancerous nodes , one near chest, one near kidney, one near ovary, and some misc. node activity much smaller then the ones above in other misc. areas. She put me back on Carbo/Platin and taxol. On the 2nd and 3rd session i went in anaphilactic shock...i was told because of the carboplatin...the reactions were only while receiving IV.

She stopped the chemo, but called me 3 days letter and said we would try Taxol and Oxaliplatin, still a derivative of Platinum..

That will start today..in about an hr..

Due to the pain in the feet and knees I started taking Ibuprofen 600 mlgr twice a day. She ok'd it and just cautioned me to make sure I check I do not have a fever before I take it because i wouldn't be able to get chemo if the fever was hidden and i had an infection/inflammation

The pain in the knees and the feet decreased a lot and I am thankful for that.

I started taking the Ibuprofen 3 times a day, 400 mlgr each time, and added Omeprazole/ or zantac for the tummy...the neuropathy pain...GREATLY REDUCED

I am in the middle of my six sessions and she didn't discourage me, she just warned me to make sure I don't have a fever.

I do trust her and it is helping my pain, which apparently is caused by a lot of inflammation.

My question is : isn't it possible that cancer , genetic or not, is sparked by an infection in the body and the infection causes inflammation and that is why an anti-inflammatory drug as simple as Celebrex or ibuprofen..could possibly keep Cancer too it under control or at least increase remissions times??

Sorry for long post!

Thank you and God Bless

Ingrid

[carol-b]

Hi Ingrid,

I live in northeastern Pennsylvania and currently am treating at Sloan Kettering in NYC. I am 61, a nurse and was diagnosed in 2009 with OC Stage 3C, high grade serous epithelial cell type. I have undergone 2 surgeries and am on my 6th line of chemotherapy.

I know there is lots of information on the internet about the effects of infection and inflammation on cancer. Personally I don't have enough knowledge myself to know if those agents would increase remission times. I did start a daily aspirin once I was diagnosed. Also, I know that cancer grows more easily in an acidic environment so I try to keep my body as alkaline as possible and do test my urine a few times a week. Diet mainly has been helpful in this area. Sugar is my weakness and a huge culprit in cancer.

I was on Neulasta for my first line of treatment and suffered worse side effects from that than from the actual chemo. I only accepted half doses after that. By the third line I refused the drug altogether and fortunately my counts remained in safe range.

I also developed neuropathy and found a compound online which I continue to take twice daily called Neuropathy Support Formula. It basically is a load of B vitamins. My onc had no problem with me trying it. It took about 2 months and now I only occasionally have some burning on the base of my great toes.

Two and a half years is a good remission period. I myself only got 18 mos the first time and it has dwindled since then but our cell types are different and no 2 of us the same.

So sorry to hear about the reaction you had to Carbo. It seems the Platinum drugs do the best and am glad you are able to go on another derivative of them. I unfortunately am platinum resistant now. They are speaking about trying them again after being off for several years. We will see.

I wish you the best of luck on your journey.

Fondly,

Carol-B

[thesilent1]

So glad you are doing well on this regime. My CA125 was raised on review in Aug with CT scan show growth at 3 pelvic lymph nodes

Now on watch and wait. I had bone/leg/joint/muscle pains during my first line treatment and was left with this

I believe it is down to the Taxol element of treatment. Very interesting. When the time comes for my second line treatment I may ask the oncologist about taking ibuprofen. Keep well. Ann

[Hidden in reply to thesilent1]

I have read your posts with interest. It does seem that aspirin does help some forms on cancer stay in remission for longer. I have googled some articles on research. I try to keep my diet alkaline starting with green juice in the morning to include celery spinach carrots and apples and ginger. Ginger root is also being researched as a tool in some areas of cancer. In the end of the day my oncologist thinks that a truck load of ginger would be needed weekly along with a truckload of tumeric but I could turn yellow if I adopted that suggestion. He is not too happy with mixing stuff, because if you get ill, it is easier to sort what is making you ill, well that is his opinion so I stick to it apart from Juicing once a day

[carol-b in reply to Hidden]

I love your juicing suggestions. I had started the same when I was first trying to keep my system alkaline. Plus, it was an easier way to get my greens. I used to place an inch of ginger in each drink and for some reason forgot about doing this or when I go to the market it never crosses my mind to pick it up. I do juice a bunch of kale. It took me a while to get accustomed to the taste of the green juices, though. Sometimes after a chemo treatment I have difficulty getting it down. Thanks for the ginger reminder and much luck to you!

[Hidden in reply to carol-b]

Yes the morning after having avastin, I find it hard to drink the juice for some reason. So I wait a day or two, my hubby also has a glass of it, I did try cooking Kale but couldnt eat it but maybe will try some again in juice thanks for that. Hope you are doing okay