Taxane Chemotherapy

There are three main treatments for ovarian cancer, once a diagnosis is made. These are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. In some cases, it is recommended to have two or three such treatments. When chemotherapy is recommended, it is usually given after surgery in 6 doses spaced 3 weeks apart. This is called "first line" because it is the first time chemo is administered.

The chemotherapy drugs are injected intravenously, often through a port which your oncologist will place in your chest or arm. Sometimes, intraperitoneal chemotherapy is used that injects drugs directly into the abdomen.

The initial proposed standard treatment by doctors uses a combination of a platinum-based drugs such as cisplatin or carboplatin with a taxane such as paclitaxel or docetaxel.

Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells that remain in your body after surgery, but they also damage normal cells, the drugs do not distinguish between normal and pathological. The explanation is simple: they work by destroying rapidly dividing cells, which is a description of cancer cells. Unfortunately, other cells in the body also fall into this category and are also damaged in the process. The hair follicles are an example, which is why most patients experience hair loss. Only if a temporary condition and hair start to grow again almost immediately after the chemo is stopped, although in some cases it will be different at first glance. Other healthy cells that are damaged include red and white cells, platelets (which are necessary for clotting) and cells lining the gastrointestinal tract. This can often cause the nausea which is so common with the treatment.

Because the chemo drugs can damage the bone marrow that normally produce cells, patients may experience low blood cell count and often have to take another medicine to stimulate bone marrow to begin producing cells again. The combination of all these drugs sometimes causes people to have mild forgetfulness and memory loss often called "chemo brain". This should disappear by the end of treatment.