Here's my history...I am currently on Doxil. I have never been in remission.
Feb 06 diagnosed with OVCA stage 3c. Sugery debulking insertion of IV port, Carbo/Taxol IV for 6 treatments. 6 treatments Taxol IV only as maintenance. Feb 07, recurrence. April 07 Sugery debulking, IP port inserted. IV Taxotere/IP Cisplatin/Taxol. I made it through 5 treatments, with 1 to go. Every month I was in the hospital for something. May was fevers. June was good-no hospital. July 10-bloodclot in the Superior Vena Cava vein. end of July 07-Aug 07 surgery to remove infected IP port - staph infection -in the hospital for 20 days. Home with vancomycin IV's. Sep-October 07 - Fistula draining through the vag area. It took 3 days to take me down to critical levels. Surgery torepair fistula, and added an ileostomy as my intestines had a hole in them. My doctor was thinking it was a bladder fistula, but it was the middle of the night when I called. I did not agree so I went and ate a few Coco Puffs cereal...the evidence was clear when I went to the bathroom, so I knew it was more serious than what he was thinking. I was in the hospital the next day. There are side effects with Cisplatin IPs. I was in the hospital for 25 days and sent home with vancomycin infusion as well as TPN and lipids infustion (food for my body to give my intestines time to heal) also to get me to gain weight and get my levels back to where they needed to be. I was on this for 4 weeks at home, and now it is hydration only. I started Doxil in December 07. I had the rash on my hands, and spots on my arms. I just applied ice and some Biofene (it is an ointment that firefighters use for heat burns on their face) - works almost immediately. I felt bad for about 10 days but that was the first treatment. Most people I am told just have to do the ice and feel bad for about 6 days. I do my chemo on Wed and by Monday I can tell the worst is over. Just lay down and keep ice packs on your feet and hands, and drink drink drink - anything and everything. Eat if you can. Get the miracle mouthwash as I have thrush in my mouth each treatment. Just comes with the territory, and if you don't eat, it gets worse. Even if it is just boullion or soups. Popsicles with ice cream in the middle. Eat something. Jan 08 - we added carboplatin along with Doxil. I was down longer, but it seems that the first infusion of a drug takes longer to get used to. Nausea is real big with Carbo and Doxil. Take Zofran or a nausea drug when needed. Jan 30 was my third treatment..since I have chemo on Wed, I usually have Friday before it hits. I am not one who can depend on the CA125 results. But in December it was 13. Jan was 9. I am told for most women who take Doxil, it pushes the CA125 higher. But after the third treatment it goes down. I have a CT scheduled for Feb, so we will know if there is any cancer there. I was clean when we started, except for microscopic of course, so we will see. Doxil is not that hard. I am a person that has unusual side effects at times. Some of them my doctors and nurses have not seen in other patients. We are all different. But the nausea and the rashes happen with everyone. So you would need to look for it. If it doesn't happen, Great!
Keep posting so we can see what you decided. I'm sorry this is long winded.
Vicki in Wylie