I've asked the same question @allyjay Several times. The answer varies according to who you ask. The most honest response, from my current oncologist, was 'We give you as much as you can bear as fast as we can.'
Many medical specialties have been developed over hundreds if not thousands of years; chemotherapy (by that I mean the use of cytotoxic drugs) really is the new kid on the block. As recently as the 60s it was widely derided as quackery by the establishment even within the most progressive of institutions. The research since the 70's is incredible. Even though some of the original drugs are still being used, modern additions to help us cope with the onslaught have made the process more bearable. Doses, and frequency, can be increased because the side effects can be better managed.
Getting bogged down in the stats is just exhausting. The deeper you go, the more contradictions you find. Having an uncooperative or uncommunicative specialist makes things even harder. You can sack them, if you have the energy, but that doesn't mean you care going to get a better outcome (though it can be quite satisfying) In the end I think you have to trust that someone who has spent a gazillion years studying something has a bit of an idea what they are doing. The alternative does not bear thinking about. Mxx
