Side effects

Wondering about side effects of chemo for ovarian cancer. Not sure of drugs that will be used as I have malignant endometriosis but told treated like ovarian. Orginally I was to have cisplatin but think treatment will be changed --- will know in few days. I understand carbo/taxol is standard. Do most of you that used this chemo lose your hair? How fast? Totally? Eyebrows? Eyelashes? If so, how fast did it grow back -- especially eyebrows and eyelashes! Other side effects?

well, in answer to the hair question, yes it all goes, hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, armpits/legs(not a bad thing). Mine was gone in 2 weeks. It took about a year after my last treatment for it to grow in enough to go without a wig. It's different for everyone, that is just my experience. There are lots of side effects, but they are managable, and most are controlled with medication. Keep in touch, there are lots of us here to answer questions.

Not everyone has the exact same side effects, but very similar. Yes you will lose your hair. Mine started falling out 2 weeks after my first chemo. I still have slight eyebrows but they have thinned considerably, as have my lashes. I'm not sure if I'll lose every bit of that hair, but it won't be the worst thing in the world if I do. My underarms have been hairless for quite some time, and while the hair on my legs is still growing, it's very fine and not really noticeable - although I do shave them once a month or so. I still have a thin layer of hair on my arms. Side effects for me start the second day after treatment and lasts for 4-5 days. They include intermittent nausea that lasts about 2 weeks (easily treated with Zofran), fatigue, bone pain (which for some is slight and for others more intense - I treat mine with celebrex for 4 days and it has really helped lessen it for me), and feeling blah and weak for 3-4 days. Quite a few women experience constipation because of the anti-nausea meds, I deal with the opposite - probably because of the celebrex.

Keep your chemo nurses and doctor informed of anything that pops up and they will come up with something to help.

Good luck.

I just started my treatments, so my side effects are probably a walk in the park compared to most people on here. I didn't have any nausea (probably because of a wonderful med named Emend), two weeks out I still haven't had any hair loss whatsoever, but I expect it soon. What I did have about 2 days after treatment was some ungodly bone/muscle pain that lasted for just a couple of days(I actually needed Vicodin for this, OTC stuff didn't touch it) and bad fatigue about the same amount of time. After that the fatigue was just a slight problem for about a week. No appetite problems or constipation, but I've made sure to get a LOT of fiber and water. All my food still tastes the same BUT I can't really eat anything spicy because my mouth is very sensitive. No sores or anything, just a tender tongue. There is a wonderful toothpaste/mouthwash on the market that seems to handle it well, it's called Biotene. Also am on a very strict prenatal vitamin program since I lost 9 pounds with my surgery and was slender to begin with. Since the surgery even with the chemo I've gained 3 of it back, so a good diet helps as well. I am hoping the diet/vitamins will facilitate a faster recovery overall and hair recovery, but that will only be seen with time. I am very lucky to have a dr who really wants to work with me on this.

Let me preface this by saying I have had only two cycles of Carbo/Taxol and the side-effects really seem to vary by individual. Of course most of my hair went--gradually over the course of the third week, not over one night as many people report. My blood counts were down at two weeks but had recovered by the third. Other than that, light-headedness is the only thing I have noticed. These bouts are short (a minute or two) and minimal.

I guess the bottom line is that the side effects can be slight so do not over-worry until you see for yourself.

I lost my hair gradually around the 15th day...it started to go around the "crown" of my head, at which point I just told my dh to shave it so I didn't have to deal with the mess. And yes, all your body hair goes. For whatever reason, my eyebrows and eyelashes hung on a little longer (thinning considerably) but were completely gone by my 3rd treatment.
I also had the bone pain mentioned above, but it seemed to be the worst with my first treatment, mainly I think because I wasn't expecting it. As far as nausea....I had a horrible bout with it, ended up sea-sick for a week and lost 10 lbs. But by my 2nd treatment my doc got a handle of it and we used different nausea meds, including a sea-sickness patch. And, after 8 rounds of taxol/carbo, I actually gained weight due to the steroids that were part of my treatment...
It's good to report ALL side-effects to your oncologist, because if I wouldn't have told her how horrible the first treatment effected me, I would have had to endure that 7 more times! The next 7 treatments were a breeze due to the meds change. I had "some" nausea, a lot of fatigue, and some bone pain. I felt "normal" about 6 days out from treatment day, except for some occasional fatigue until my next treatment (every 3 weeks)... I had a couple of treatments put off for a week or two due to low blood counts too.
Hope this helps. I remember being at your stage, asking the questions - and not always liking the answers. Just remember everyone is different and the one thing we have in common is that we all GOT THROUGH IT. Take Care
Pokadot - OVCA Stage IIIC at age 31- 8 Rounds Carbo/Taxol, 2nd Look Surgery April 06, dancing with NED

forgot to mention...I have been going without a wig now for about 6-8 weeks...my last chemo was in March. My hair came in super-duper curly and THICK. My eyebrows and eyelashes came in about 5 weeks after my last treatment. I get lots of compliments on my hair - I sing in a variety band so I meet a lot of people that don't know me as a "cancer" survivor - they all think I cut my hair to look like this and think it's great......

I just received my first treatment for ovca. I have taxol IV and also IP as well as cisplastin IP. I feel tired, no appetite, and intermittantly naseaus, but not too bad.