Success with doxorubicin?

Hi, I had Doxodubicin with a trial equivalent of ifosfamide and was only allowed six cycles. Results were good and kept it at bay for six months. Each person's cancer reacts differently but persevere to the end of the course. She should feel better once she is finished. You have to go with how you feel, she needs to rest when she's tired and not fight the tiredness. Good luck :)

Hi,

My wife completed her 6 cycles of doxorubicin about 6 weeks ago.  It has worked pretty well for her - stabilising and some shrinkage also after her end of treatment scan.  the Oncologist was pleased and said the response was promising after 3 and 6 cycles.  So our experience is that it has been beneficial.  The oncologist has said you can only have this drug for a maximum of 6 cycles as is can damage the heart if taken for more than that, they did an ECG before and after completion of treatment to check and all was fine. My wife has been coughing on it as well so may be linked to the drug.  

I dont know what it would mean to have a break but I would ask your Mum's oncologist what that means or if there are any other chemo drugs she could have if she is struggling with Doxorubicin.  You have the right to discuss options if you feel the benefits of the treatment are outweighed by the side effects of the chemo.

Overall we have been happy with what the dox has done.

I hope this helps.

My thoughts are with your Mum.

Marc

Hi 

My husband had the full 6 cycles of Doxorubicin for Leiomyosarcoma last year (ending May 2013) and it worked well for him.  He had 3 secondary tumours in his liver and it shrank all three, he saw good results from the scan after just the first two doses.  More importantly it was enough to allow them to go ahead and blast two of the tumours with Radiofrequency ablation and then open surgery to remove the third.  He has been cancer free since then and on 3 month check ct scans - although we are always very anxious at each scan as we know there is a strong possibility it will come back.   

If your mum is struggling there may be other drugs to help her with the side effects .  Talk to the oncolgy team they'll know best.

The doxorubicin can effect people differently.  My husband coped relatively well with it, he did not have time off work apart from the actual day of chemo, it was tough going but important to him not  to let the cancer take over everything.   But I know other people have had a really tough time. 

I hope your mum can complete her treatment and gets good results.

Caroline 

Thank you for your responses. It is encouraging to see that many have had the 6 doses together. For us, they scheduled 3 doses. After the scan on dose #2 when the doctor confirmed that things haven't gotten bigger he was a little loose about next steps - Talking about balancing quality of life with treatment. So, he did schedule a 4th and we will do a scan after that. I just wonder, can doses 3-6 make a huge impact? How do we know if we don't try? I do see that some people have had a secondary drug with the dox, so I also wonder why that option wasn't presented to us. Lucky for my mom, she retired in April (and also learned she had the cancer - great timing!) so, she can manage the fatigue and just focus on resting. I really feel for all you folks who are managing to work on top of all this!

I'm also wondering does anyone know about having a glass of wine while going through this? I think she would love one, but someone said she probably shouldn't during the chemo. I think it might help her spirits to have a happy hour every now and then!

Thanks,

Mary

Mary,

Re the glass of wine, I avoid alcohol for about 5 days or so as I don't feel like it then anyway, after that the odd glass or two has been fine. Doses 3-6 did still have a good effect on my tumours. 

I have soft tissue sarcoma and started chemo (not doxorubicin) last month.  No-one has suggested I give up alcohol and I haven't although I am drinking less than usual - however I find a nice glass of something chilled and white in the evening does wonders for the morale!

I have also been told that exercise and keeping active is the best way to try to deal with tiredness, so go for a walk every day.  I bought a Fitbit pedometer to motivate me and find it really helps.

Best wishes

I had doxorubicin alongside ifosfamide.. At diagnosis it was terminal but the shrinking affect of the chemo made it operable. It shrunk a 17cm tumour to under 10cm. Amazing.

I always drank white tea before and during the chemo because of this paper I Found http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3857493/

It's been almost four years since then. I now have a local recurrence but I did have positive margins after surgery so its understandable. At least this time they've not said it's terminal.

Michelle

Fantastic news .so pleased someone got response from doxorubisin.good luck in the future

Best wishes. Tony