I just dodged a bullet! I had one massive cisplatin treatment 3 weeks ago and as a result suffered an episode of altered hearing, which later resolved. I happened to mention this to Donna from this forum, who has been incredibly helpful in answering my many treatment-related questions, and she told me to be sure to mention it to the doctor. This morning I did, and he immediately switched drugs because if I had continued with cisplatin, I would be deaf! About 20% of patients are thus susceptible, so if you or anyone you know is having this type of chemo, please be aware of this potential risk.

Joanna

Joanna. Thank you for posting this information. All too frequently patients do not inform their doctors that a particular side effect is bothering them. In this particular case, that would have had catastrophic consequences. Communication with your doctors is a two-way street. Not only should you ask as many questions as necessary to understand COMPLETELY what is going to be done to you and why, but you should be giving your doctors feed back as the process unfolds as well. While they may be doctors, they are not mind readers.

As Brian said, of course communication is the key. If a patient is concerned with ANY effect of ANY treatment, it should be communicated and discussed.

I would like to express other considerations though that must be taken into account when deciding on treatments. As I've stated before, my husband had lung cancer and was treated twice with cisplatin. Yes, cisplatin is more toxic than carboplatin and CAN have more severe side effects - but we wanted to be as aggressive as possible to give my husband the longest chance of survival. He experienced some hearing loss (which was greatly reduced by having the built-up wax in his ears flushed - a common side effect from radiation to the head)and also some decrease in vision but I am convinced the use of cisplatin is what gave him an extended amount of time over the average lung cancer patient - he had 21 months vs. 12 months.

I am now in the same situation with my mother who is 71. In addition to squamous cell head and neck cancer, she has a lung nodule. A bronchoscopy failed to get the cancer cells so it is still unknown what kind of cancer cells are in her lung. Regardless, since cisplatin is used for both head and neck and lung cancer, I am adamant about her receiving cisplatin vs. carboplatin. She is not willing to undergo numerous treatment plans so I feel she should be given the best shot at the cancer the first time around.

My experience has been that when it comes to treating cancer, there are many trade-offs. And many of the decisions that are made are affected by our personal beliefs. In our case, I think some hearing loss is manageable to aggresively treat the cancer. But she isn't going to have to go through the surgery that so many of you have endured and conquered.

Just wanted to added another spin to this subject.

Cynthia

Cynthia, I understand exactly your point. My scare was that I am apparently so very susceptible that the loss of hearing would be complete. In my case, deafness is not an acceptable tradeoff for cancer free. The chemo was my idea in the first place**, because the docs really don't think there has been any migration of cancer cells, but "don't think" isn't good enough for me. I will now receive Taxol and Carboplatin weekly. Given my "special" susceptability, I will expect to lose high tones, well above convesational levels. That, however is a risk I deem acceptable.

** Want to make a medical oncologist's eyes light up? Tell him/her that you WANT chemotherapy! (grin).

Joanna (still jumping up and down that she won't be accidentally deaf.)