Is the chemo working???

Hi whatdayisit welcome to the forum. Chemo is usually  given with a view to shrinking a tumour prior to further treatment should this be required. 

Im thinking that the ultrasound would be to have a look at what is happening after the treatment and if  that mix of chemo is having  the desired effect if that makes sense?

HI Whatdayisit

I know from earlier posts  that your mother's PC has spread elsewhere and that the chemo is mainly for palliative care rather than with a view to surgery. The chemo hopefully reduces any pain. It can also hold the tumour at bay to increase lifespan. The ultrasound after a couple of infusions is routine in some hospitals.

Squeaky

Hi

she has now had 4 rounds of chemo (out of 6).  she started all ready, still very active weight about 10 1/2 stone.  Now she is 91/2 stone and pretty quiet.  A little active, still drives etc.  However the doctor is worried about the weight loss (as are we) and has suggested a week break to assess the progress.  Im not sure this is a good thing.  Although the last chemo knocked her out but the Dr thinks that the dose is too high for her new weight.  She's not eating an awful lot.

Im worried they will stop the chemo and say its not working.  That the weight loss is a bad sign.

WDIT x

HI WDIT

It really depends upon what the doctors hope to achieve from the chemo. If, as I mentioned above, it is to keep pain at bay and try to stop the tumour growing they will be able to judge that from scans on the tumour and your mother's report on pain. Weight loss is very common with PC. Firstly, because the patient often eats less but also because the nutrients are not always absorbed.

Chemo isn't an exact science. It helps some but not others. I'm certainly not an expert but I don't think missing a week would have a huge impact on effectiveness.

Keep supporting your mother. I am sure she appreciates it.

Squeaky

Thank you

I have to continually reset my expectations from the chemo.  Sometimes when she is well is seems that she will have lots of time but I know this is not true.  I do think it has reduced the pain a little.

Its a shame that the chemo is getting in the way of any fun we had planned.  We had a birthday party planned for her 75th with family etc but the last chemo knocked her out and so we have cancelled the party.  

Be nice to get the chemo over so we can have some nice days out before she is too unwell.

Hoping to delay the inevitable. 

xx

Morning WDIT, One of the conversations I had with my husband was whether it was better to have chemo to try to buy time or not to and have a better quality of life. I don't know the answer except that for the last five months or so he was on a chemo regime that had lots of side effects, three hospitalisations and continued loss of weight. Whether that led to extra time or not I don't know.

Hopefully, you can have some nice days out.

Squeaky

HI

My next chemo will be number 12.

I was told that the reason I am weighed when I go to give bloods is so that they can adjust the chemo dosage accordingly.  The volume of drugs is based on weight of patient.

After losing 3 stone pre chemo I have stayed within a reasonable weight range throughout, although I did have a violent reaction to first 2 treatments and they adjusted the concentration of one of my Folfirinox drugs from 80% to 60%.

Is your mum taking Creon with food?  I found this very helpful in digesting food, and helped control my bowel movements (together with Loperamide).  I also found that a change of diet helped me eat more.  More pasta, fish, slight increase in spiciness and I have eaten more cakes and chocolate in the past 4 months than I have done in the last 40 years!

When I give bloods they check for my “tumour marker” level.  My initial reading was sky high but has reduced by 96%, although still way out from normal range (below 37).

The tumour marker is an indication of whether the chemo is working.  It is not a hard and fast number - other factors can affect the reading. It is the trend that is important. My consultant regards it as a very important measure - helpful to monitor between scans.

ian

I should have said that there are 2 tumour marker checks.  I have the CA19-9 version.

I think the one is called CEA

Ian