Chemotherapy Timing
- Chemotherapy – usually administered every three weeks – is often a total of six treatments
- Each infusion takes around six hours
- Surgery and chemo treatment together take about six months
“We typically give six chemotherapy treatments, one every three weeks,” says Dr. Erin Crane, gynecologic oncologist with Atrium Health in Charlotte. The infusion of the two drugs lasts about six hours. When all is said and done it takes about six months to get through chemotherapy and surgery. "I think the biggest part of our jobs, whether it be from cancer diagnosis to counseling patients, is to reassure them that they’ll get through it and they’ll be okay."
Read More One of the things Crane explains to patients is that many of the fears they have about the side effects of chemotherapy are manageable, for instance nausea and vomiting. "Even though they can be an issue with the drugs we use, they tend to be really well controlled with the medications we have." Most all women ask about their hair falling out, and CarboTaxol can cause hair loss. But there are options for women to try, to maintain as much hair as possible, such as cold caps, which is a new technology. The theory behind cold caps (scalp hypothermia is the medical term) is that the cooling constricts blood vessels in the scalp, reducing the amount of chemotherapy drug that reaches the cells of the hair follicles. The cold also decreases the activity of the hair follicles and makes them less attractive to chemo, which targets rapidly dividing cells. Both may reduce the effect of chemo on the follicle cells and, as a result, prevent or lessen hair loss. Taxol can cause neuropathy, or tingling in the fingers and toes, and doctors carefully monitor that throughout treatment and adjust the dose if it really becomes an issue. Chemotherapy can also cause bone marrow suppression, decreasing the body's ability to fight off infections. "We advise patients to stay away from other people if they know they’re sick,” Crane says, “and to really be good about calling us and letting us know if they’re not feeling well or if they have a fever or signs of infection."
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