Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer
- The most common combination of chemo drugs given to women with ovarian cancer is carboplatin with paclitaxel
- The chemo combination is generally well-tolerated, with some patients able to continue working throughout the treatment
- Whether to give chemo at all and what dose to give will depend on several overall health factors
“A lot of patients who are receiving carboplatin and paclitaxel for ovarian cancer are still able to go about their normal lives,” Dr. Daniel Sonnenburg, a medical oncologist at Community Cancer Center North in Indianapolis, told SurvivorNet. “I have some patients who have worked throughout the entire time that they’ve had chemotherapy, but that’s not always the case. It depends on the patient themselves and how they respond and how they react to chemotherapy.”
Read More Dr. Sonnenburg noted that a lot of women are really scared when they come in for their first chemotherapy session — we’ve all heard horror stories about these drugs. However, he said that the carboplatin/paclitaxel combination is generally fairly well-tolerated. “It can be something that’s not as terrible an experience as they might have heard of or had family members go through,” Dr. Sonnenburg said. “Usually it’s very tolerable, very manageable and it’s something the patients can get through.” With that being said, not every woman with ovarian cancer will get this combination of chemo drugs, and some may not even get chemo at all. Factors like a woman’s age, frailty, and other medical issues will go into the decision of whether or not to give chemotherapy and what dose to give, Dr. Sonnenburg said.
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