Carboplatin - Serous

Hi Daisy1952. I can agree that the worst side effects come from Paclitaxel, hair loss, peripheral neuropathy to mention 2 things.

You are a year older than me I guess from your ID (no flies on me LOL!) and my recurrences had had 10 months to set up shop so I had lesions on liver and spleen and masses in Peritoneum, Omentum and above the vaginal cuff so I needed basically everything thrown at it for 6 cycles of both Paclitaxel and Carboplatin whereas you've just had your hysterectomy and this treatment will hopefully halt everything in it's tracks with the possible Brachytherapy to be the cherry on the cake! (Forgive my humour!)

I hope some of the other ladies come back to answer your question.

Sending hugs, Barb xx

Hi Daisy1952 My diagnosis was similar and I was offered 3 session of chemo but I did have the paclitaxel with the carbolplatin ...... but wish I hadn't....I am 66 ( 65 at time of treatment ) and I had such a bad reaction to the paclitaxeel it was agreed we stop treatment. My downfall was the Neuropathy . So I only had the one round chemo, and I declined the rest. My surgeon advised me there where very clear margins, as she took everything including top of cervix and part of Omentum so was quite confident. My Womb was 20mm thick  ( i don't know why but was told it should only be 4mm ! ) this turned out to be a blessing  as  the cancer only got 50% through, so confined to the womb.  I am now 7 months on and the Neuropathy is back, but thankfully manageable ( I dread to think what it would have been like if I had continued with the other rounds of Taxol. That being said I was never told about the Taxol being higher risk with less effect or given the option to go with Carboplatin alone, if that had been offered I may well have continued. My option was to reduce the prescription of combined cocktail which I declined. I know everyone is different and I know people who have had the same treatment as me that have got through it with less side effects so you have to do what you think is right for you at the time. Take Care x

Hi Daisy1952

Perhaps you could request 6 sessions of the carboplatin instead of the 4 that are being proposed.  I am tolerating carboplatin very well.  

Hi Daisy, is there a particular reason why you’re worrying about having “just” 4 carboplatin?

Hi Daisy1952 

I was diagnosed with SEROUS Stage 1a. I remember the surgeon before Radical Hysterectomy surgery and after when he came to discharge me after operation he mentioned that I would need Chemotherapy treatment as my cancer was high grade. When CNS rang me to tell me my histology results were reassuring as cancer was confined to the polyp they removed , and said the oncologist will send me a letter to discuss possible optional treatment with chemotherapy I was amazed as up to then it was definitely Chemo all the way.At the appointment the oncologist said that there was no spread to the Omentum or lymph nodes but they question if there's any microscopic cancer unseen in  LVSI So for this reason they (MDT TEAM) wanted the patient to make the decision about Chemo as if there's nothing there then it's doing nothing and I'm being overtreated for possibly nothing. The letter they sent after the discussion clearly mentions that if I opt for chemo it's not Guaranteed that I wouldn't have a recurrence. So of course after much research about recurrence I decided to have the chemo and glad I did that way if it did come back I won't be kicking myself wishing I had had it. If it does come back then it's just a case of bad luck. I Know I've thrown everything at it. One thing the oncologist was very certain about is they definitely recommend 3 , sessions of Brachytherapy and this I wil have after the chemo.

Hope this helps you in some ways. Take care xx

Madesp

Hi Maddy. I always wonder why, as my cancer was grade 3 serous, I wasn't offered chemo in the first place. I was offered Brachytherapy as an optional "Belt and braces"

I was also clear on LVSI and Lymph nodes but malignant cells had been found in the peritoneal flush so why no chemo? I can only assume different hospital trusts follow different guidelines. Friends of mine now make noises about misdiagnosis and I should follow it up but I don't have the energy!

Hugs, Barb xx

Hi Daisy.  It is strange (and a bit worrying) how different hospitals do things slightly differently.  I don’t think age is a factor, well I certainly hope not - I turned 69 a couple of weeks ago, so similar to you and have just finished 4 cycles of Paclitaxel with carboplatin, followed by 3 sessions of brachytherapy.  I did get the feeling that my oncologist was open to several possibilities - I even feel that if I had said I didn’t want chemo at all she would have agreed.  
Making the decision ourselves is very difficult, as we just do not have enough knowledge in my opinion.  Fortunately my consultant that did my hysterectomy had been very adamant, when he rang to give me the results of the histology after my surgery - he told me not to be swayed by the thought of losing my hair and to go for Paclitaxel/ carboplatin combination as mine was a very aggressive type.  I do ask lots of questions - I don’t think they take it as questioning their judgment, but it is a major thing in our lives and we need to understand exactly what our choices are.  Do you know what grade your tumour was?