stage 4 treatment From Holly : I was diagnosed... - My Ovacome

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stage 4 treatment From Holly

hollyp profile image
6 Replies

I was diagnosed Nov 2014 stage 3 and since have had usual major surgery. I have had 4 lines of chemo: carboplatin/paclitaxel, Carbo/caelyx, weekly paclitaxel, carbo/gemcitabine, but have never managed 6 months of remission inbetween new chemo.

Recently CA125 has risen to 1330 (Nov) dropped to 1093 (Dec) and now rising in March with CT scan showing progression of disease. Carbo/gem treatment has been stopped after 4 cycles as deemed to be ineffective. A phase1 trial has been discussed but after screening etc I am in effect 'too well' as tumours are too small and it appears that there are no suitable phase 2/3 trials. There is reluctance to continue treatment although it has been suggested that one chemo without carboplatin could be tried as I am resistant to carboplatin, known as 'platinum refactory' although 'response rates from subsequent standard therapies are low' . It has also been mentioned that I have a high level of oestrogen so a hormone drug might be effective. Has anyone had endocrine therapy? and what results /side effects?

Whilst I feel well and lead a reasonable life, I know that the disease will progress rapidly, and I am not ready 'to go'. Has anyone else been in tis situation?

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hollyp
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yewbarrow profile image
yewbarrow

Would a second opinion help? I believe it is something you can request and perhaps you could see someone who wants to support you to fight this.

Sorry i can't answer your specific questions, but hope you find the right way forward for you and i wish you very good luck x

LesleyGreengran profile image
LesleyGreengran

Sorry can't answer but I just wanted to say sorry you are in this situation. There are some hormone based treatments that seem to be effective for some people. I had Tamoxifen but it didn't work for me but there are some new developments since then and more effective drugs.

hollyp profile image
hollyp in reply to LesleyGreengran

I have also been told that responses are low. Not sure if a low response is worth the side effects but thank you. Holly

January-2016-UK profile image
January-2016-UK

If you are not being treated at a major hospital, do ask your oncologist if there are other trials you might qualify for at other centres. Also, why not ask for a second opinion, sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can be all it takes to come up with a different treatment option.

All the best!

Di16 profile image
Di16

I've had hormone treatments with not too many side effects. I found it easier than chemo. The one that worked best for me was called Exemestane. It shrunk the tumours a bit for a while. Others have done better on other drugs. But I found it worth trying them, & it gave me a chance to recover more from the effects of chemo before trying another course of chemo.

hollyp profile image
hollyp in reply to Di16

The recuperation period before more chemo drugs has also been mentioned as it would appear my bone marrow is very low. Will discuss it further with the tea. Thank you

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