Gemcitabine and Carboplatin

Hi there @Boobless2,  I had Carboplatin as well as docetaxol, so hard to know which side effects were from which drug.  Three weekly cycles for 6 cycles. However I was told that docetaxol was the main culprit for my side effects, which was doable. I wasn't prepared at all for side effects so after first cycle I learnt to stock up on drugs for constipation and drugs for diarrhoea, indigestion , nausea etc.  The steroids you take before and after chemo help too.

Not much help to you really , plus we all react differently.  Someone else might jump in who only had Carboplatin.

Best of luck to you in making your decision.
S Payne

I have not had those drugs but eviq has some general information about possible side effects.  The Onco can usually tell you about their experience with other patients who had the same drugs.  Good luck with your treatment.  We are all in this together.
https://www.eviq.org.au/medical-oncology/breast/metastatic/1324-breast-metastatic-carboplatin-and-gemcitabine#evidence

Hi. I had Gemcitabine and Carboplatin for metastatic breast cancer in July August Sept this year. I only ended up having 3 of the 4 cycles planned as the Carboplatin depressed my bone marrow so much. Otherwise usual hair loss, constipation and nausea....which the steroids and Maxalon controlled. 
It did however appear to stop progression......I'm now on oral chemo, Capecitabine

Thank you for that. When were you first diagnosed with Mets?

Hi, In June I got my diagnosis after having been free of it for 9 years. It was a "smack in the teeth" kinda feeling as I was originally told I had a 97% chance of still being alive after 5 years and thought that I was cured! The scary thing is that even my regular mammo and ultrasound would not have picked this up......it was only after I developed fluid on the lungs and they tested that fluid and found metastatic cells. PET scan found extensive mets in spine. 

Yes the diagnosis sucks.  My first breast cancer was 1999, with a recurrence in 2013. - not picked up by usual means but I had developed an itchy rash and inverted nipple around the site of previous cancer. Through perseverance, they finally did a biopsy and found it. Chose double mastectomy and had all the usual treatments, thinking that was it. But Mets diagnosed May last year. I started with Xeloda, for 8 rounds, but then it stopped working. Then had a good run with Vinorelbine - for 10 months, and there was improvement, but stopped working. Had 4 rounds of irubilin and that has done nothing. So not sure about proceeding. 

Dear @Boobless2 and @Kats162, 
I opened up this thread out of curiosity because (lucky me) I had never heard of Gemcitabine and Carboplatin. You ladies have got a good discussion going I think. 

for Christmas and 2020. Hope your treatment goes really well.
from jennyss in Western NSW