Hi Harriet,
With me what happened is that I was given carbo-platin/taxol when first diagnosed. I had a severe reaction to the carbon on my 8th chemo, (i was supposed to have 11), so they stopped giving it to me and told me I had plenty. I had a recurrence a year later and they gave me cysplatin/taxol and had an even worse reaction. I didn't think I would make it through that time. So, my doctor at Shands had me get radiation instead. Well, 11 months later it was back. I had my third surgery. My doctor said there really wasn't a lot of options except for the carbo-platin. They did some research on how I could recieve it and it started that they would pump me with steriods and other pre-meds, give me my chemo very slow and then each time increase the speed. I begged them not to increase the speed as it worked when it was given to me slowly. They wouldn't listen and sure enough on my 2nd round I once again had a very bad reaction. Luckly, I was in intensive care when it was being given to me. They stopped it right away (around 7 p.m.) and the next morning they again administered all the pre-meds, (a ton of them), gave me my chemo very slowly and it worked. Two days later I was so sick that I thought I might die. I later found out it was from the double dose of pre-meds. They never gave that a thought. At that point I decided to go somewhere else and that's when I went to CTCA. They felt that at the point I was at they would have to finish with the carbo but first I had a full body scan. They would place me in intensive care to administer it and it would take at least 10 hours but I got through it. They had told me then that I had so many other chemo options but because of where I was with the carbo they were going to complete it. In the meantime, they gave me so much more information on my cancer, the possible treatments and they also felt that it was very important for me to be scanned every 3 months due to the fact that my tumor markers were never elevated. My local doctor wouldn't give me a scan that often, she wanted to wait 9 months. She also wouldn't order a PET scan for me which CTCA said was very important. 6 months after my last treatment, which was ordered by my local doctor, my cancer was back. 4th time!!!!! CTCA immediately put me on a different chemo which they can't guarentee will work but feels It was something that I should have tried earlier. They also have a special radiation that can be given to the exact same place I had it before if needed. They studied my cancer and told me what vitamins I should take which may help in holding my cancer off. They don't take anything for granted. If they see a speck of anything in my scans they are on it. My old doctor felt it was best to wait 3 4-months and then re-check before doing any treatment. I really mean it when I say that when I went there they gave me back my life. They spoke to me about living with cancer and not dying with it. I was very, very depressed when I got there and by the time I left I felt like a new person. My only regret is that I only go there every 3 months because when I leave there, after talking to all the other patients, I know that I can beat this or at least live with it. I really have met many people there that were going somewhere else and given just months to live and that was years ago. They all swear that the CTCA it what saved them.
I know this is going on and on but really my old doctor, "who is the best", probably would have chalked me up by now. If you go the CTCA your 1st visit is really just to meet the doctors and get their opinions. There are no obligations. They fly you there and the first time they also fly a caregiver or whoever you choose to come with you so that there is an extra pair of ears. I am so thankful that I went there.
I wish you only the best. I know how devastating this is. With mine being fallopion tube it is harder to treat as it is a rare cancer. I was diagnosed at 51 and I'm 57 now. I am doing great, this chemo is much easier on me than the other and I've completed my 5th round. It's called Doxil. They want me to get 12 rounds of it, 1 a month. If after next month (my 6th chemo) they don't see that my tumor has shrunk, they are going to put me on something else, The difference with CTCA is that they didn't let my tumor grow for months. They began treatment immediately. When I waited 3 months with my local doctor it had doubled in size. I had a scan after 3 of my Doxil chemos and, unfortunately, it didn't shrink but it didn't grow. That was good news for me since I know that under the old circumstances it would have grown.
Good luck, keep me posted as to how you are doing. How long have you have your cancer and what have you done so far. From what I understand, even ovarian cancer is treated differently for each patient.
Judy