Chemotherapy in tablet form

[TinaWright]

Hi, I wondered if anyone can explain why some of us have chemotherapy by a daily tablet?

[charlie12]

Hi there

The drugs that are given by infusion either do not work when taken by mouth e.g they are broken down by stomach acid , are not absorbed in sufficient quantities or may be too toxic in the quantities that are needed.

The treatments given by mouth are by in large newer and at the moment are not as effective as the first line OVCA drugs . However treatments are improving all the time and many new drugs taken by mouth are in development. Everybody realises the benefits of avoiding all that time having infused chemo , the cost of nursing time , the risk of infections and the risk of having infused treatments etc, but at the moment the infused drugs give better results.

Charlie xx

[Whippit]

Wow, I hadn't realised there are oral chemotherapy treatments available. I'll defo ask my oncologist on my next visit - though Charlie's answer seems to say it all. Seems straight into the vein is more effective for now. xxxx

[blue100]

I think the norm is to have chemo intravenously for OvCa but that's not to say the oral form is not effective. All drugs are different I guess. I know not OvCa, but my dad had stage 3 bowel cancer over 4 years ago and was given oral xeloda/capecitabine which was tolerated really well with no hair loss and has not had a recurrence.xx

[Hidden]

Oral chemotherapy drugs can also be given as maintenance treatment, eg. cyclophosphamide.

[jurassic]

I had an oral chemo drug Etoposide for my 4th line. It only ought my CA125 down to 51. i had the last lot starting on 11May. I had to start a new intravenous treatment in Sept as CA125 was up to 637.

love Marilyn

[TinaWright]

Hi ladies,

thankyou very much for your feedback - well, this is what I thought about it too.

My brother had colon cancer at the same time as I had my ov cancer but he had oral chemo, this was the first I had heard of it.

But I appreciated that oral is different type of chemotherapy drug and I presummed it was more gentle as he didn`t have all the horrid side effects that I did, in fact he was out fishing and riding out and about on his tryke.

He took this oraly for 3 weeks at a time then had a week off. Nigel was very optimistic he was cured from his cancer and the chemo was just there as a mop up of any cells that may have escaped. 18 months later he had died.

After Nigel`s death I started to think about the oral chemo - the family found out Nigel had infact been truthful about his prognosis, he had refussed to have a colonoscopybag (whoops, not sure if I have said that right????) so therefore the surgeon was unable to take all the cancer. I began to wonder that the oral type of chemo drugs were a method of maintaining the cancer. He did lose his hair and I am clueless to the name of his drugs.

Now, where was I leeding with this? Well, I had never heard of anyone on here having oral chemo for their OV cancer, so I assumed it was because all cancers are different and all chemo treatments are different. Something else you only learn after your own diagnosis.

Anyway now, my mother-in-laws Goddaughter has recently been diagnosed with OV cancer. She had a hysterectomie 3 years ago but kept her ovaries. Sandra is in her 40`s, I wonder why they kept her ovaries (even if they were healthy) had they been removed 3 years ago she wouldn`t be in this situation now, arghhhh! Sorry, thats just me having a rant!

Sandra has been started on chemo immediatelly, she will have this for 3 months followed by surgery, then 3 more months of chemo, noting unusual there but she has been given her chemotherapy oraly and this is what has made me scratch my head and wonder - is this something new maybe?

Obviously my elderly mother-in-law is comparring my own case with that of Sandra`s and she is fretting that oral chemo before surgery may be a bad sign.

So ladies this is where my query was leeding - thanks for listening to me woffle on and thanks for replying.

Take care with a hug from Tina xxxx