Need chemo that leaves platelets alone ASAP

Jennifer, Sending you a hug. Can you do neupogen injections? I did Gemzar and it tanked my counts too. Missed a couple of tmts and my onc had me do 2 weeks on, 1 week off, 1 week on then 1 week off until i was able to do better with my counts but then I needed my 1st transfusion. Wishing you some swift answers. Hugs Dawn

Sorry no help but wanted to send you gentle hugs! Keep that fighting spirit! Hugs kimber

Honeybear - sorry for the stage IV post but I worked in Transfusion Services.  Platelets have an extremely short "shelf life" if you will.  They are pretty mercurial, nothing you can really take or eat will assist in their production.  I am wondering if they can transfuse with platelets just prior to your treatment, with each one, and possibly at the half-way point between tx.  A platelet transfusion is really quick - takes about 20 minutes, not the all-day affair of a red cell transfusion.  There should not be any red cells in bag, so no need for a crossmatch either.  You would require single-donor, irradiated, CMV negative platelets (known as "all the way") so they might have to place a special order so that these are available for you as you need them.  Also, because of the volume over time you would require type-specific platelets - i.e. - your own blood type.  This kind of an approach may tide you over so that you can receive needed treatment.   

china - thank you, I hope so!

I'm on navelbine and it is tanking my white counts but not bothering my platlets, not sure if this is normal or not but this is my experience so far.  Hope it helps.

Did hormonals work for you at one time?  How long since you have been on them?  Maybe you can give them a 2nd chance???  It's possible they will slow something down so you can fight and deal with chemo better.

Jennifer, my bone marrow was almost 100% packed with cancer cells in May.  I started on Abraxane/Gemzar which failed.  I started on Ixempra and it cleaned up the bone marrow.  I can't tell you how many blood and platelet transfusions I had, but alot.  My doctor never cancelled my chemo even though my platelets were at 17 at the time.  I always got a platelet transfusion and if needed a blood transfusion on chemo day, and it really helped me.  After the 2nd chemo round of Ixempra plus platelet transfusion I didn't have a need for transfusions any longer. 

I'm sorry for your struggle.  I did Navelbine and my platelets were always stable.  It definitely lowered my whites and reds but not my platelets.  It's worth asking your onc about anyway.

Jennifer, can they give you the chemo at a much lower dose?  Something has to be better than nothing.  It might be worth a try.

My thoughts and prayers are with you, and I hope you can come up with something.

Peggy

Jennifer, just a thought.  Go to Inspire.com, there is a wonderful women there who goes by fragilistic.  She just got back not long ago from CA where they did a liver biopsy to see what chemo would work best for her situation.  It was done at the hospital but testing was done at a place called rational therapeutics.  This is a new thing, more like matching a chemo to your own unique situation.  Alot of Oncs (but certainly not all) are changing their thinking on this. I myself don't know alot about it but it's in the back of my mind in case I may need it in the near future.  Please let me know what you think. She's on Stage IV board.