New treatment

[Strawberryfield]

Hi been to see the onc the carboplatin hasn't worked my ca125 is going up.seems a bit of a waste of 15 weeks,especially when I told her at the start I wasn't happy having carboplatin again.having to have more chemo after only 2 months does not say to me the carboplatin was a success first time.anyway I'm getting a months break and all being well I'll start docetaxol at the end of September.she did want to give me paclatixol.till my daughter in law pointed out to her I had 2 allergic reactions to it.your life in their hands.just as well some people know what's going on.anyway I guess I'll look forward to my break and build myself up for my next adventure.carolyn x

[TinaB1]

Hi Carolyn .. I can see you're very disappointed and upset and I'm really sorry. It is true that we put our lives into the hands of doctors and just pray they get it right. Do you think though that the people at the pharmacy would have spotted that you'd reacted? They do checks on prescriptions for in-patients during pharmacy ward checks so maybe you've been flagged up and the drug would have been switched?

I've found that having this illness has shown who loves me. I was thinking that your daughter-in-law was there for you and cares enough to even know what drug you're on. I think that's amazing since she's not got the the illness herself.

When I've gone through difficult things in the past (particularly hospital interventions) I always ask myself what I learned from the experience, Some of the most life changing (and positive) understandings about life have actually come through the most traumatic of situations. Xxxx

[Lovis]

Hello Carolyn. I can't believe they put you back on Carbo so quickly. I thought they had to have a 6 month gap. I'm sorry it hasn't worked. I was on Carbo and Caelyx for 3 cycles but despite the CA125 coming down it had actually progressed. I'm now on weekly Paclitaxol. I'll know on 21st September if it's working.

When were you diagnosed?

[Strawberryfield in reply to Lovis]

I was diagnosed at the beginning of September last year.hope your news is good on the 21st.il be thinking of you.

[Marla3]

If a doctor gives you the same chemo knowing it didn't work the 1st time, it's time to change the doctor. Sorry, but many doctors don't see you as human being but rather as a $$$$$ sign. There is a test they can give you that can tell if chemo is going to work for you or not. Many doctors don't want to do this because they will make the money trying the different chemo's. I strongly suggest to watch chris Wark snd Ty Bollinger on how to treat cancer naturally. Chris Wark interviews different people from pancreatic, cancer to brain cancer, watch his YouTube videos. Wish you the best!

[BJ_UK in reply to Marla3]

I'm guessing that you live in the USA, Marla3. Most people on this forum are either in the UK or Ireland - that may well include Carolyn - and I am not aware of any financial incentive for British doctors to try lots of different chemo treatments. What UK doctors can use is heavily influenced by what NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines say they can use. NICE's decisions are guided at least in part by how cost effective any given treatment is, and sometimes that means that we can't get treatments here that are available elsewhere until they have been proven cost effective. That goes for genetic tests as well. That doesn't mean that Carolyn shouldn't ask for a second opinion or switch doctors - it just means that any other doctor is likely to be working under similar constraints. If she does want to switch doctors, it would probably be best to seek treatment at one of the big research centres, like the Royal Marsden in London, the Christie in Manchester or the Beatson in Glasgow, as those centres may well have a wider range of treatments available through clinical trials. There can be benefits in moving from one country in the UK to another, though, as Wales and Scotland do have control of their own health budgets, and sometimes use different guidelines - but that's a pretty drastic step to take and is not always a practical option.

I hope that Carolyn finds a treatment that works for her soon!

Barbara

[francescahannah]

hi Carolyn, Sounds like you've been having a rough time and maybe it would be an idea to ask for another doctor. I've had a lot of chemo over the years and did very well on weekly taxol and they can give you desensitizing drugs the day before treatment. good luck with it all

francesca x

[Hidden]

Hi Carolyn. I'm just curious to know why you were put onto Carbo alone. I thought it was usually in combination with another chemo drug e.g. Taxol or Caelyx. I do hope it gets sorted soon; uncertainty won't improve your day, that's for sure. Best wishes. Pauline

[Strawberryfield]

Hi I was on carbo and paclatixol at the start but I had an allergic reaction to the tixol on 2 occasions so it was stopped.sorry meant taxol not tixol.carolyn

[Wiganw]

I had carbo taxol first line reacted to taxol so only two doses, went to just carbo, did not work on its own, back for second line in 6months, had carbo gem and have now had 26months without treatment so don't give up.

Sharon