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Ovarian cancer - not responding to chemo
I have high grade serous carcinoma ovarian cancer. I have a 12cm tumor on my left ovary, the cancer has spread to two lymph nodes and also both of my lungs. I have had 4 rounds of paclitaxel and carboplatin. A CT scan was done post round 3 of chemo. The results show that the chemo is not working. The cancer lesions in my lungs have grown. The surgical oncologist said that I am currently not a candidate for surgery as the benefit doesn't outweigh the risk. We meet with the medical oncologist this Friday, July 31, 2026.
What other options are out there for me at this point since my cancer is platin resistant and that is typically the gold standard for treating ovarian cancer.
Does the Mayo clinic have more advanced options for someone like me in my current situation? I live in British Columbia Canada. Debating if I should seek treatment abroad where more advanced care would potentially be available for me.
I feel like I have just lost 3 precious months undergoing a chemotherapy that wasn’t working.
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@nycmusic thank you! I will add that one to the list.
I also live in BC.
My tumour markers did not fall until after 4 rounds of chemotherapy.
the same treatme t and diagnosis.
after 6 rounds the marker was 39.
@ktoth, if you would like to seek a second opinion with Mayo Clinic experts, you can submit a request here: https://mayocl.in/1mtmR63
How did you appointment with the medical oncologist go on Friday?
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1 Reaction@cookercooker
I have also been on enhertu for serous cell endometrial cancer which recurred after 18 months of carb/pac.....it was approved by the FDA for endometrial cancer in August 2024. Not a trial drug anymore....I am being treated at MSK in NYC. I have been having infusions of enhertu since May of 2025 and my scans have all been NED since the first treatment...a very good targeted chemo drug for HER 2 + cancer....if you're a candidate for the drug it works ! Best of luck to you !
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1 Reaction@alohman08 That's terrific news! I live in Canada and the medical system here is collapsing. It also takes forever to get drugs approved. Enhertu is approved for breast cancer, here, but I expect it to be approved for EC within the next five years.
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2 Reactions@maghera they have stopped the current treatment as my CT scan that was done on July 15th after round 3 showed the cancer has spread. So they have to re biopsy my tumor and do extensive testing on it to come up with a plan B.
Happy for you that your treatment is working ❤️
@colleenyoung Thank you Colleen for the link.
The meeting went pretty good. We left there with some hope that they will come up with a plan B. They need to biopsy my tumor again so that they can do further extensive testing on it. My case is being presented to a panel of doctors today, so hopefully they will come up with a plan that will be effective in shrinking the cancer. The treatment that I was getting has now been stopped (carboplatin and paclitaxol Q21 days), I had 4 Rounds of it, however the CT that was done after round 3 showed that the cancer has spread in my lungs. They are looking at putting me in the POG program (Personalized Oncology-Genomics). They won’t do surgery at this time as they said the benefits don’t outweigh the risks.
@alohman08 Thank you for your response, it is encouraging to hear of others who are going through the same situation that are having positive results. It sounds like Enhertu has a high success rate for those who are put on it. I’m not sure if this drug is available in Canada.
@cookercooker I think it has been approved but not paid for.
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1 Reaction@maghera Approved in Canada but not paid for by your province (British Columbia)?