jaminkw Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Did anyone who has been on Taxol/Carboplatin/Avastin combo know what amounts in mg of each they were receiving each infusion? Judy in Key West Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welthy Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 If you are on an every three week schedule, you'll be receiving a full dose based upon your weight. Calculations can usually be found in the gobbledy-gook in the manufacturers instructions. We found a slight difference of "rounding off" between the hospital and the oncologists office. Best of luck, Welthy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recce101 Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Judy: I went to the clinic for my monthly port flush today and asked the head chemo nurse to check my chart for that info. Each drug uses a different method of computing the dose, which depends on variables such as body weight (for Avastin), body surface area (for Taxol), and a complex formula called "area under the curve" or AUC (for Carboplatin). Here are the formulas and the dosage for me in milligrams (height 5'9", weight 175): Taxol: 200 mg per square meter of body surface area -- 380 mg. Carboplatin: AUC 6 -- 720 mg. Avastin: 15 mg per kg of body weight - 1190 mg. If you need to actually understand how and why these formulas are used, maybe we can get cat127 to give us a hand. Aloha, Ned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyW Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 see if this link helps Judy! http://medicineworld.org/online-medical ... ators.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patti B Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Judy- As the others have said, its adjusted each time you go based on your height and weight that day. Mine were as follows: Taxol 308 mg Carbo 612 mg Avastin 795 mg Once I was on Avastin only, that dosage went up to 840 mg - don't know if it was because I was on that only or because I was getting "plumb" Hope this helps!! Patti B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat127 Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Glad to help if anyone has any specific questions, but as others have already said, the doses for those drugs (and we all know it isn't that way for every cancer drug) are dependent on the patient and their weight or size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaminkw Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 Thanks guys for all the feedback. I was relieved when Ned said when Dr West said 15mg/kg, he meant 15mg based on kg of body weight and that the 25mg on my itemized bill may have referred to the dilution rate. I was really freaked out before this infusion and really was looking for a reason not to do it. Oddly enough, my chemo nurse came in to apologize for how long it was taking to get me started--she said the pharmacy sent up the wrong milligrams. That gave me the perfect opportunity to ask, although by now it's really academic. Her answer jives with what everyone is saying--700 milligrams when I started, she couldn't remember what it went up to exactly but it was only a little. We both figured that was because I've gained nine pounds since I started! I had myself really worked up the morning of the infusion and my husband warned if I didn't calm down my blood pressure would be so high they wouldn't do it. That almost happened but with a really sweet tech I've had before and a new (to me) young chemo nurse who was a sweet as can be, I settled down and the second bp was good. I took my infusio like a good girl but still asked for the hour because of the awful headaches I've had with the prescribed half hour infusion and my fear of the bp giving me a stroke. What a difference a different nurse makes--when I asked her if I could, she said if you want an hour you get an hour! Now I wait to see how the side-effect are--so far so good but the headaches don't usually kick in until day nine but I think the horrible sore throats started the first morning after. None so far on day one following the infusion. Now I also wait for three weeks for my first CT/PET since right before my dx. What have I learned about myself so far? I'm not as tough as I thought I was but damn, I'm feeling a lot stronger today. Thanks again, Judy in Key West Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patti B Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Judy - Don't kid youself, Judy - YOU ARE TOUGH AS HELL!!!!!!!!!! Keep fighting!! Hugs - Patti B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaminkw Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 Patti: Thanks, I needed that. And I read your profile so it's high praise considering the source. Judy in Key West Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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