"Clear cell ovarian cancer is particularly aggressive and somewhat resistant to chemo." that's what my doc said during our post-op appointment. Therefore it needs to be treated aggressively with chemo and possibly radiation.... The first line treatment for ovarian cancer is usually a combination of Taxol and Carboplatin. This is effective for 95% of the other types of epithelial OC- but it may not work as well as expected for my rare clear cells (clear cells are <5%>
March 3, 2009
Treatment
So I went to SCCA for my appointment. As you come into the building you have to get 'screened' for respiratory illness- meaning you fill out a little survey about cold symptoms, and you get a little 'i've been screened today' sticker (if you have symptoms I think you just wear a mask). You also always have to show your little green card that is like a credit card with all your identification information on it. I wonder how difficult it is for the receptionists to explain to foreign-language speaking patients why they have to show their green card. Anyways, I sat in the waiting room and remember being confused because there was a "isolation" section and a regular section. I wasn't really sure which one to sit in (was it for chemo patients or for those with respiratory illnesses?). When it was time for me to go back to the room for treatment, all the nurse did was say to me the number 20. I didn't know what the meant, but after looking confused another nurse led me to room 20. She gave me the full tour: RN station, bathrooms, snack room, and at least two other hallways for a total of 40 or so rooms. I laid on the bed and the nurse offered me a warm blanket, something to drink, and some oreos. The room had the usual reclining hospital bed with cable tv. It was kind of like a relaxing little day at the spa- everyone was giving you blankets, food (even a box lunch), snacks, etc. Not too bad.
The nurse then started my IV and ran some Benadryl. I've never had IV Benadryl before, but it's a trip! Within 15 sec the walls were getting a little wavy and I was zonked out. I guess there is something in the Taxol that people react to, so they have to load me with Benadryl and dextamethasone beforehand. That took about an hour, followed by a 1hr drip of the Taxol and 3hrs of the Carboplatin. All this time I was pretty much too tired to do anything but sleep and eat oreos- until my bladder started hating me. Suddenly I was having to go every 15-30min because of the liters of fluids being pumped into me. Such a pain in the ass too cause I had to unplug the IV machine and carry it on the pole with me to the bathroom while drugged on Benadryl. Eventually I got to nap some more, but then again was awakened by annoyance- a friendly chaplain had come to visit. Apparently the SCCA offers this service to anyone wanting some emotional therapy- but geez- waiting until I could barely move mouth from benadryl was not the time. She kept talking on and on.. and all the time saying "oh- I should let you rest". Sorry but the last thing I needed at that moment was a chaplain.
When I got home that night I felt ok and just went to bed. They sent me home with Lorazepam and Compazine for nausea, and a 3day dose of dextamethasone to further prevent an immune reaction. For the next few days I had no nausea which was great. I instead was extremely tired and pretty useless sitting in bed all day watching movies or sleeping. On day 4 I stopped all of the above meds and started to feel so much better! I had a little more energy and was much more functional.
So the major side effects of these two drugs are like many other chemos: nausea, bone marrow failure (low red and white blood cells and low platelets= more prone to anemia, infection, and hemorrhage), peripheral neuropathy (loss of sensation in my extremities) and of course- a sexy big bald head. I knew all this yet no one told me when it would all happen. Well 5 days later on Friday I started having awful bone pain. It ached in my knee cap and shin bone so much that I didn't really feel like moving around. I took some narcotics and that helped a little but the dull ache was pretty much still there. Then Saturday morning I woke up with the tinglies. My fingertips and pads of my toes are numb. Walking on carpet with bare feet felt odd, as well as the feel of the dishes in my hand as I unloaded them from the washer. It's hard to explain but this is what is expected. What I didn't expect is that I have been having some loss of balance. Sometimes just standing in the shower I feel myself tipping a little to the side. Now that's weird. My Romberg test was normal ;) I'm a gymnast- I don't have balance problems!!!
Now all that's on my mind is the impending hair loss. People told me that it happens in a week. Well, there is nothing on my pillow, nothing in my brush or in my shower drain. I'm totally prepared for it- I am going to shave my head with two good friends the second that it starts coming out in clumps. `I think of it as an easy way to go into summer- no need to shave my legs, no need to worry about washing the sea water out. It's also an excuse to buy new accessories such as scarves and maybe some colorful wigs. I'm now just waiting. And it's too bad I just bought new razors, a bottle of shampoo, and hair dye!
The nurse then started my IV and ran some Benadryl. I've never had IV Benadryl before, but it's a trip! Within 15 sec the walls were getting a little wavy and I was zonked out. I guess there is something in the Taxol that people react to, so they have to load me with Benadryl and dextamethasone beforehand. That took about an hour, followed by a 1hr drip of the Taxol and 3hrs of the Carboplatin. All this time I was pretty much too tired to do anything but sleep and eat oreos- until my bladder started hating me. Suddenly I was having to go every 15-30min because of the liters of fluids being pumped into me. Such a pain in the ass too cause I had to unplug the IV machine and carry it on the pole with me to the bathroom while drugged on Benadryl. Eventually I got to nap some more, but then again was awakened by annoyance- a friendly chaplain had come to visit. Apparently the SCCA offers this service to anyone wanting some emotional therapy- but geez- waiting until I could barely move mouth from benadryl was not the time. She kept talking on and on.. and all the time saying "oh- I should let you rest". Sorry but the last thing I needed at that moment was a chaplain.
When I got home that night I felt ok and just went to bed. They sent me home with Lorazepam and Compazine for nausea, and a 3day dose of dextamethasone to further prevent an immune reaction. For the next few days I had no nausea which was great. I instead was extremely tired and pretty useless sitting in bed all day watching movies or sleeping. On day 4 I stopped all of the above meds and started to feel so much better! I had a little more energy and was much more functional.
So the major side effects of these two drugs are like many other chemos: nausea, bone marrow failure (low red and white blood cells and low platelets= more prone to anemia, infection, and hemorrhage), peripheral neuropathy (loss of sensation in my extremities) and of course- a sexy big bald head. I knew all this yet no one told me when it would all happen. Well 5 days later on Friday I started having awful bone pain. It ached in my knee cap and shin bone so much that I didn't really feel like moving around. I took some narcotics and that helped a little but the dull ache was pretty much still there. Then Saturday morning I woke up with the tinglies. My fingertips and pads of my toes are numb. Walking on carpet with bare feet felt odd, as well as the feel of the dishes in my hand as I unloaded them from the washer. It's hard to explain but this is what is expected. What I didn't expect is that I have been having some loss of balance. Sometimes just standing in the shower I feel myself tipping a little to the side. Now that's weird. My Romberg test was normal ;) I'm a gymnast- I don't have balance problems!!!
Now all that's on my mind is the impending hair loss. People told me that it happens in a week. Well, there is nothing on my pillow, nothing in my brush or in my shower drain. I'm totally prepared for it- I am going to shave my head with two good friends the second that it starts coming out in clumps. `I think of it as an easy way to go into summer- no need to shave my legs, no need to worry about washing the sea water out. It's also an excuse to buy new accessories such as scarves and maybe some colorful wigs. I'm now just waiting. And it's too bad I just bought new razors, a bottle of shampoo, and hair dye!
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