Carboplatin/Taxol and then just Avastin. What can I expect?

[Peachy]

Very soon, I will begin 4 rounds of Carboplatin/Taxol and then just Avastin. What can I expect? What are the side effects of this chemotherapy cocktail? Can someone enlighten me. My caretaker is my adult son. I want to be prepared so as not to burden him too much.

Thanks,

Peachy

[Mendy]

I don't know about the Avastin but my husband did have 4 round of carbo/taxol. He had a reaction to the first round and that was a bit scary but not everyone has a reaction. Make sure you take your anti-nausau meds and drink plenty of water. He did have a couple of days of being tired once the steroid wore off. His appetite was not affected. There are others here who have had trouble with their appetite. Everyone always stresses the importance of staying ahead of the nausau by taking the meds the doctor prescribes and drinking lots of water.

My husband did not need me to stay home with him during the chemo phase of treatment but I went with him for the treatments just to keep him company.

Good luck and I pray you get great results.

Mendy

[JB]

Peachy, Can't speak for the Avastin either but Col did 6 rounds of that carbo/taxil. Not that I have tons of experience with chemo, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. SHe had no reaction. The meds they gave her to help her stomach worked pretty well for the most part. She'd be down for a couple of days, needed a transfusion after every treatment cause her blood counts kept getting so bad, but after the transfusion would gradually improve. She had a lot of other stuff going on at the time, just out of the brain surgery, radiation thru the first couple treatments, all at the same time, it would be difficult for us to blame it all on the chemo. Given where she is now a year out, bet if you asked her again, and guarenteed her she'd be where she is in another year, she do it again.

Best of luck to you. Keep us posted.

[TracyD]

Hi Peachy,

I went through that very treatment last fall and found it to be tolerable. I did six rounds of carbo/taxol/avastin. I lost my hair in the first two weeks, which I was warned about, but I didn't expect it to happen quite so fast. I also experienced fatigue for the first few days after treatment, and it got worse as the treatments progressed, extending into the second week. At all times I felt good during the third week. I never got nauseous, so be sure to take all your meds so that it never gets a grip on you. I had mild neuropathy, but it went away as soon as treatment ended.

As far as continuing on Avastin alone, that was a piece of cake. I know it can cause bleeding, and in my case the worst of it was spontaneous nose bloods which never lasted more than a five minutes. I also noticed that my sinuses were incredibly dried out, a good saline nasal spray helped with that alot.

That's all I can think of right now. Please let me know if you have any questions I can help you with.

Be prepared, line up lots of help in advance if you can. Get lots of rest, pamper yourself. It's tough, but you CAN do it. Good luck!

Tracy

[Ry]

For John the carbo/taxol hit on day 3 following the infusion and it was like flu symptoms -- body aches and fatigue. The Avastin alone is a quick easy infusion with no problems. Good luck!

[ernrol]

Peachy,

I have been on that for three months. I have two weeks to go. I have not had a sick day from it.

Stay positive,

Ernie

[Maryanne]

Joel did not have the Avastin but had the carbo/taxol

It was tolerable for him. He did not get neaseaus but some people do and there is medication you can take for that.

He did have pain mostly in his legs about the 3rd day after treatment. I did a lot of massaging on them. You can also ask for pain pills so you can have them if you need them.

Good luck, will be thinking of you.

Maryanne