My husband is in his 7th week now. He received 2 Chemo (Cisplatin)treatments, but they have found that his red blood cell count is down and they are considering not giving him a 3rd chemo treatment because of this. Does anyone know the pros and cons to receiving 2 chemo treatments verses 3 chemo treatments? When completed he will receive 35 radiation treatments. At this point we are not sure about the surgery issue and if surgery is required. Carol...

Mom,

It's probably impossible to answer that question with any certainty but when my MO was considering eliminating my 3rd Cis he reminded me that the chemo does not by itself kill the cancer. It assists the rad by setting the cells up to be killed more effectively, i.e. the chemo enhances the kill rate. He had told me at the beginning that adding chemo to the Tx would enhance the kill rate of the rad by 20 - 30%. Now that ESTIMATE was with 3 so what would the ESTIMATE be with 2 ? .... 13.333% - 20% ? I have never heard that ESTIMATE but there are probably soooo many variables that it would be impossible to know except one thinking 3 must be better than 2.

Carol-
All I can add is my experience since I am also a Stage IV tonsil survivor. I had 4 chemo treatments. Two during radiation and 2 more each 3 weeks down the road. One of which was postponed a week due to low red blood cell count. It was aggressive and made me sicker than a dog, but I am now a 5 year survivor! Hang in as long as you possible can with treatment. - Kris

Thank you David for your reply. It is a difficult question, but I wondered what some of the people here in the forum thought. My understanding from a lay persons view is that it kills all the good and bad cells in the body not really sure of the details either. When you think of it... what cells?? I also believe it works with the radiation, killing the cancerous cells and takes good cells with it. I would like to know what other people think on this subject. Thank you again. Carol...

Kris thank you for you reply also, I did not see it until I had posted. That maybe the alternative if needed and they will do it. Thanks again. Carol...

Actually the existing researcyh I've read and heard about shows there's not much difference between two and three rounds of cisplatin in terms of later recurrence. I was only able to have two treatments myself since after the second both my white and red blood cell count were way way low. From what I understood from my doctor at the time, somewhere between 30 and 40% of people receiving this treatment only end up being able to take two of the three chemos, so it isn't that unusual.

Nelie

I had 2 out of three and I am almost 5 years out now. The added toxicity may have caused other problems anyway. The data I have read suggests about 13% improvement in survival odds (that's in addition to radiation by itself) with concurrent Cisplatin and radiation, I have never seen a number as high as 20-30%. I have also read reports that 2 Cisplatin treatments are as efficacious as 3 and in some cases maybe even more so.

Carol, I think the only thing that matters is what Ken is physically able to tolerate. What difference if 3 treatments are better than 2 if he can't have it.

There's so many variables at work including how advanced the cancer was to begin with, is there lymph node involvment, it is contained in situ or extracapsular, is there metastasis, are there microscopic cancer cells that are hiding, what other health problems exist. All these things influence results.

When Jack was in treatment I chased every statistic I could find because I didn't want to believe that in the end we would just have to wait and see. I think the true challenge of being a survivor is accepting that no one can promise results. We all go thru this horrific experience, it should at least come with a money back guarantee.

I hope the blood counts come up but if not don't make yourself nuts about it. It is what it is.

Regard JoAnne

Well put JoAnne, Thanks Lee

Here is a new swing?? My husband was scheduled for his 3rd chemo today. He was admitted but his radiation doctor decided to propose it until June 5th his original date for chemo, then the chemo doctor said there was no advantage to having it then and scheduled it for June 18th. The chemo doctor said the premium days for chemo were not lining up because of a date error with the second chemo??? At this point in time they are setting up the chemo. I think it was proposed because of his low red blood cells count. Any thoughts??? Carol...