chemo dose reduction/neuropathy

[lavender2]

I have ovarian cancer stage 1C clear cell.  I've had four cycles of carbo platin taxol.  I'm concerned about the neuropathy I've experienced so far.  It has gotten worse with each dose and I understand that there is no way of knowing whether it will go away after chemo or not.  So far I just have numbness and a bit of weakness is the right hand/arm and right foot/leg.  However, I'm a mom of two young children and a teacher, and I would like to come out of this with my limbs working well.

I have heard there are some options to reduce neuropathy, such as chemo dose reduction, or using only the carboplatin and eliminating taxol from the final two doses.   On another board, I was given a link to a study that indicated that compared to 3 cycles, six cycles of carboplatin taxol does not statistically affect the chance of recurrence in early stage ovarian cancer.   The url is: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16860852.

So far my CA-125 have been good: 20 before the first chemo, 18 before the second, 20 before the third, and 22 before the fourth.  My oncologist said we could check the CA-125 again before deciding on any dose reduction.

I would appreciate any feedback on the advisability of dose reduction.



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[lavender2]

Teresa - how do you find out if someone is platinum resistent?

[survivor_susie]

I had stage 1C and also had neuropathy, beginning with the first treatment.  My doc knew I was a musician and that I needed my hands!  I had a reduced dose for my fifth round, and a further reduced dose for my sixth.

I then took Aromasin for a year and the neuropathy was far worse when I was on it.

It has been three years since, and I only occasionally get neuropathy.  It's brief--maybe 15 minutes at a time.  Certainly something I can live with.

Good luck!
Kathy

[Teresa222]

I can understand your concern about the neuropathy affecting your quality of life. However, having Clear Cell, I would recommend you listen to your ONC and take the full treatment.  I have Clear Cell, as do a couple of my friends.  It's nothing to fool around with.  Two of my friends have Stage 1's and are platinum resistant. I too was platinum resistant. You may want to mention this to your ONC.  I don't think it is any coincidence that everyone I know who is Clear Cell, is platinum resistant.  Now, some may not know they were actually resistant to the platinum, because they breezed right through the initial chemo and had no recurrence. This is a deduction some of us have come to from being active on MedHelp. It really is a big help for all of us who dwell here after DX.  My ONC admits I am platinum resistant, as do the other gals ONC. I am saying this so that you can look into it.
As far as Neuropathy...I have it too. I take Neurotin for it and it relieves almost all the symptoms.  I mainly have it in my feet.  Best wishes on controlling it. I agree it is no fun. My feet feel numb. One thing great about having it is having pedicures and having them only rub the feet. Ahhhh it feels great! At the shop I go to, they wonder why I keep showing up when I don't need a pedicure!
Best wishes on completing your chemo with much success!
Teresa

[westajul]

Hi, I cannot comment on dose reduction because it was only my last dose that was reduced. I had an extra three chemo treatments after ct scan andbloodwork showed no more cance...wanted to make sure we killer microscopic cells. I also suffer from neuropathy. I had numbness in both my hand and feet. I couldn't fasten buttons and my feet felt like to lead blocks. It has been two months and my neuropathy has improved dramatically. I have some numbness in my finger tips and in my feet but it no longer affects my normal activity. I go to the gym and am active. Between treatments I did see the neurpathy was improving a little...so I was pretty sure my neuropathy would get much better once I stopped chemo. Good Luck. Julie