Starting chemo for ovarian cancer for the second time.

Are you having the same type of chemo as previously?

I also just restarted chemo for endometrial cancer for the second time two weeks ago. Carbo/taxol again, but with Keytruda too. So far, I don't feel any worse than the first time. My chemo symptoms mostly went away after a week as they had before.

I was having acid reflux, I think from the cancer, before I restarted chemo, and chemo has also given me acid reflux in the past. I sometimes take OTC Pepcid, or if that doesn't work, I take the prescription Ondansetron (Zofran) that they gave me.

Have you tried icing your hands and feet during your chemo infusion? I'm not sure whether it helps, but it probably can't hurt. My feeling is that after you get home, you should then warm your hands and feet back up, and then try to keep them warm. (My reasoning is that maybe peripheral neuropathy has to do with your hands and feet being too cold at some point, since things that are "peripheral" tend to be colder.). My feet are still a bit numb from the chemo I had last year, but so far don't seem to be getting worse (knock on wood).

I hope you start to feel better.

Thank you so much for responding. They say I am on the exact same chemo as before (carboplatin, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab) and at the same doses. I’ve heard things like side effect risk is cumulative. But I am so weak, I can barely make it to the bathroom. I didn’t feel weak during or after my first round of chemo two years ago. I could work, take care of house and husband, no problem. I’m worried I might have to go to the hospital.

Have you taken your temperature? Could you have neutropenic fever? Maybe you should contact your doctor.

Have you had recurrence or was this in your original treatment plan?

Recurrence. Inoperable. I hesitate to complain to my doctor about how much harder chemo is this time. I’m afraid they will decrease the dose or cut back in some other way. I guess I was hoping someone would say, “Yeah, that happened to me, too, but in two weeks it went away, and everything was fine after that.” And val64, my temp is normal.

Just finished my first round of 6 with a reduced paclitaxel of 50%, due to neuropathy and pain. Carbo, was the same dose. No Avastin or like drugs, suffer chemo anemia, trying to eat my way out of this. Blood genetic test showed no brca ….., and no tumor biopsies done. Dr. Wants to check ca125 and do pelvic exam in 3 weeks, and discuss maintenance. Not feeling terribly confident with the plan, doesn’t want a CT and thinks better to biopsy next tumor that grows. Ahhh! The other thing big is a rash on my butt, think it’s viral. Wondering if anyone else has direction on this. It can be a bit overwhelming.

If only it worked that way. But I would still encourage you to communicate what’s going on, and also tell them you want to keep going as strong as possible. But it may also be a good idea to get a slightly lower dose so your body can fight harder. If your numbers get lower they will stop it anyway, so work with them and stay strong.

I have a 2nd recurrence brewing now, it’s up close to the aorta and I think they will also tell me inoperable, it’s a very scary word.

I just had my second infusion today, and it was a disaster. The Keytruda and paclitaxel were fine, but I had a fairly severe reaction to the carboplatin. I've been hanging out in the ER ever since then, while they're waiting to see if the allergic reaction will start up again when the drugs wear off. Since I've been sitting here, I've been reading up on carboplatin sensitivity reactions. Apparently they're most common in exactly my situation: the second infusion after you re-start carboplatin after a long break.

I wondered if you're having a less severe version of the same thing.

I’m so sorry this happened to you. I hope you’re feeling better now.
I’m doing better than I was a few days ago. Since my last writing, I developed neutropenic fever and was hospitalized for 3 days. I’m home now but still feel so weak. And everything tastes like wet cardboard. It’s so jarringly unexpected to have new side effects to something you thought you could tolerate just fine.
I hope you don’t have to stop carboplatin for good! My second infusion will be on the 9th.

Do you know if your CA125 was high before your treatment? If it was, then that might actually be a good way to monitor your situation. My surveillance plan involved only pelvic exams (which turned out to be inadequate), but I discovered that if I contacted my NP with specific worries, the first thing they would do is order a CT scan. I did that twice.
The first time they didn't see anything, and it made me happy for a while. I did it the second time two weeks after a "clear" pelvic exam, and that one found multiple metastases.

Your anemia will probably gradually resolve now that you're not on chemo anymore.

They must have a sample of your tumor from your surgery that they could do any test on. What test is it that they're waiting for a new tumor for? Are you thinking about going on maintenance?