Chemo for Ovarian Cancer - Need to Know
- Most women with ovarian cancer will be given a chemotherapy combination – a platinum and a taxane
- Treatment is generally given one day every three weeks
- Side effects can vary, but most women will experience a “cycle” of side effects — meaning there are some good days and some bad days after the chemo infusion
The most common way for treatment to be administered is one chemo session every three weeks, Dr. Stephanie Wethington, a gynecologic oncologist at Johns Hopkins University, tells SurvivorNet. That one session usually lasts around 5 to 6 hours. The other 20 days of what doctors would refer to as a 21-day “cycle,” you would be at home recovering from treatment and preparing for the next chemo infusion, Dr. Wethington says.
Read MoreDr. Wethington points out that people often feel OK within the next few days after treatment, which may be followed by a few days of feeling a bit sick and tired. Those symptoms tend to clear up in a few days as well. Then the cycle will repeat after the next chemo infusion.
Dr. Wethington says it’s important to pay attention to how your own symptoms change throughout the treatment cycles, that way doctors can adjust what medications they are recommending for you to align more closely to your individual situation. Side effects can vary greatly from patient to patient.
“Most patients can begin to map for themselves what their treatment course side effect profile looks like,” Dr. Wethington says. “It’s very individual, but they have their own individual pattern. Some people get neuropathies — which are the numbness and tingling in the feet and the hands. Some people get some aches and pains — some flu-like symptoms. Some people get the nausea. It really varies by individual, and it does follow a cycle.”
“Not all days are bad days,” she adds. “There’s some good days and some bad days.”
Other common side effects for ovarian cancer chemotherapy — aside from nausea, fatigue and neuropathy — are hair loss and gastrointestinal issues such as constipation or diarrhea. Fortunately, for many of these side effects, your doctor may be able to either prescribe medication to alleviate some of the pain or discomfort, or recommend some supplements or lifestyle changes.
For nausea and vomiting, your doctor can give you a drug before you begin your chemo infusion to help curb these problems. Medications can also be given after treatment for you to take home to reduce any risk of developing nausea over the next few days.
Even for hair loss, while it’s a very common side effect with this kind of chemotherapy, things like cooling caps may be able to slow the hair thinning/falling out process.
It’s important to keep your doctor in the loop about your “side effect cycle” so that it can become a part of your ongoing treatment plan.
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