My mom was diagnosed with stage IV adenocarcinoma in January of 2008. She has a very large tumor in her right lung, lesions on both adrenal glands as well as a small lesion in her brain. She has undergone radiation to her entire brain as well as three cycles of carboplatin and taxol. She tolerated all of these treatments very well. Unfortunately, so did her cancer.
As a second line of treatment, her oncologist put her on Alimta. We were told that the side effects for this particular type of chemotherapy are minimal. She tolerated the first two cycles very well; however, the last two cycles have been horrible. She is in a lot of pain and is incredibly weak. She also has neurological symptoms - she is incredibly forgetful, confused, etc. She mixes up names of people frequently. Since she tolerated the first cycles of Alimta so well, my fear is that it is the progression of her cancer causing these symptoms and not the chemotherapy.
Can the side effects of chemotherapy be cumulative? In other words, are they more likely to occur and/or occur to a greater degree with each subsequent cycle? I am searching for any reasons that may help to explain why she has gotten progressively and rapidly worse other than the progression of the cancer. We have a CT scan, MRI, etc. as well as a second opinion at Sloan-Kettering coming up in a couple of weeks. Any feedback from anyone who has undergone a similar situation would be very much appreciated! Thank you!
~Mandi : )