I was diagnosed with stage 3C high grade serous carcinoma of left Ovary/Fallopian tube in October last year. I underwent a midline laparotomy and radical debunking surgery (large bowel involvement and formation of stoma, complete resection.) the operation left me quite traumatised and took 12 weeks to recover. Possibly the worst period in my life. The subsequent chemotherapy seemed a breeze compared to the recovery from the operation. I have just finished a 6 treatment course of Paclitaxel and carboplatin which has gone relatively well. I did not suffer to badly. The worst symptoms were joint and muscle pain for a few days / some slight tingling in my fingers and toes but only periodically / and fatigue. I opted for the cold cap and managed to retain my hair. Although i did loose all of my body hair. I am now waiting for a CT scan but my CA125 is down to 10 from pre op level of 185. My oncologist has recommended a maintenance medication to prolong the period of my remission and is proposing the drug Niraparib. I am just wondering if anyone else is taking this medication and what sort of side effects they are having. Having read the information, the list of side effects are endless and appears to lower white blood cells leaving risk of infection! I thought steering clear of COVID and other infections was bad enough on chemotherapy, and i am worried what sort life i will have with this constant worry, or should i just try to live a normal life as best i can and manage the risks. I would be really pleased to hear from anyone who has experienced this medication. many thanks in advance.
Hi and a very warm welcome to the online community
I don't have the experience that you're looking for but I noticed that your post hadn't had any replies yet. Replying to you will 'bump' your post back to the top of the discussion list where hopefully it'll be more easily spotted by someone with the right experience.
I have found this information from Macmillan for you about niraparib but I agree that nothing beats first hand experience! If you type 'niraparib' into the group search bar at the top of the page you can read previous posts which mention this drug and reply to any of the more recent posters if you think they can help you further.
While you're waiting for replies it would be great if you could pop something about your journey so far into your profile as it really helps others when answering or looking for someone with a similar diagnosis. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
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"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi,
I took this drug on and off for 5 months, unfortunately my platelets kept dropping so I had to keep coming off them. They lowered my dosage, but still dropped, so I’m off them now, starting taxol again next week .
They wasn’t too bad , did feel sick , took anti sickness tablets. Very tired. But these symptoms apparently do calm down after a couple of months, my problem was I couldn’t get past 3 weeks . So every time I went back on them I had all the side affects again.
heard some amazing results from taking this drug though , I would deffo try them and see how you go.
good luck 
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