How long do the chemo drugs stay/cause effects?

[MROSE]

Hello!

I'm curious to know if anyone knows approximately how long cisplatin and/or etoposide remain in the body after the last cycle of chemotherapy. My boyfriend John, 23, is experiencing some mild but consistent nausea but not a total loss of appetite. He finished chemo June 9th of this year. His RPLND was July 5th but he did not have any bowel/stomach complications from the surgery. Is it possible his nausea is due to leftover cisplatin/etoposide?

I'm curious to know - I feel like everyone is so different, but it's nice to hear from people who have gone through something similar.

Thanks!
Melissa

[dadmo]

With your boyfriend having finished chemo in early June I would be very surprised if his neusea was chemo related. The high dosages of chemo should flush out of his system in a matter of days, however traces of the drugs can be found in the blood for up to 20 years after the treatment is completed. As for complications from the chemo they might not become evident for several weeks or months after the chemo is finished.

[Don]

I would think the naseau and pain is probably coming from all his internal organs settling back into place after the surgery... It takes a while to recover.. just be patient for the first few months.. I had the same problem for about 4-6 months.... One day at a time....

[JimmyDean]

I made drastic improvements 2 wks after i got home from the RPLND. Now..over a year later.. I have NO side effects at all...

[Fish]

Hi:

It definitely takes a while to feel normal after RPLND - this is MAJOR surgery. It was easily 6 months until I was 100% Also it is not uncommon to develop adhesions after any type of abdominal surgery. This is a kind of scar tissue formation which can cause the intestines to "stick" to the abdominal wall. Sometimes they need to be surgically "unstuck".

I would not worry as long as there is a general trend toward feeling better. But if he seem to be getting worse, definitely call the surgeon. Does he have any more surgical follow up?

[Chris'Mom]

Chris had stomach problems also after his RPLND for a while, now over a year and he feels great...a couple of months ago he had bad stomach pains..went to the emergency room up at school...but they subsided...just worry now about what FISH just said,,,,the intestines sticking to the ab wall...would that develop this late...Mary Ellen

[Jilleighn]

cisplatin is out of our body with in days. We were told 72 hrs.
Sounds like it might be from the surgery.

May I ask what RPLND stands for?

[dadmo]

RPLND is the operation the do to remove the lymph nodes, it's short for Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection. You can check out this link for more information.

[Jilleighn]

I thought it was the Lympth node removal, but was not positive. It is something my husband did not have to go through so I was not fimilar with the term. thanks

[MROSE]

Thank you so much for your thoughts. We haven't called his Oncologist/Surgeon with these questions but he is scheduled for a check up in 2 weeks with his Oncologist so I'm sure we'll have some more answers then. Would it be possible for the RPLND effects to kick in 1 month after surgery? His original recovery was great with just about 0 stomach issues to follow. I've heard some people talk about the digestive system taking awhile to gain 100% normal functioning after that last round of chemo. I've also heard so many different things about how long the cisplatin/etoposide remains in the body. What I have learned most clearly through this very long road is that everyone is different. Does anyone have any more info on the adhesions FISH was talking about? This is new to me and I want to make sure I can either rule it out or understand that John's symptoms are in line with this condition.

Thanks for all your help, we appreciate it so much

[Don]

cisplatin is out of our body with in days. We were told 72 hrs.

This is note good info.. Traces of Cisplatin and other chemo drugs can be traced in the blood stream for up to 20 yrs in some cases for those who have endured more then the standard(still trying to figure out what is standard about it ) 3 rounds of BEP such as high dose and salvage chemo theraphy...

[Larry B.]

Mrose

I can't tell you anything about RPLND recovery and issues. I was not a canidate, and went directly to Chemo. I had originally started 3XBEP, but changed to 4XEP after side effects from the Bleo. I completed my Chemo 10/11/05, and by Christmas I was feeling like my old self. Now, I am actually feeling betting than I was before all this crap started. I think that is because I am taking so much better care of my health. I have cut back on the drinking, and have been trying so hard to quit smoking (down to 1/2 a pack a day), and exercising more. I think that if you drink more water that it helps to cleanse the system also. I drink a min. of 8 12oz bottles of water a day (and somtime a couple beers). Anyway, lets just be happy that this is such a curable type, and that each heathy day is a blessing.

[jimbo]

Yes, I agree with the previous gentleman's opinion re chemo followup reactions. Possibly another problem, get to a dermatologist or two for some opinions. I had allergic reactions to the chemo by consistent itchiness under the skin which ended within 2 weeks following chemo of 9 weeks. (1 full week of chemo times 3 with 2 one day sessions each of the following weeks and repeat for a total of 9 weeks.) This was fall of 2001. NO problems since last operation in Jan 2002 to remove grapefruit size tumor behind stomach with arms wrapped around uriter of kidney and aorta of heart, 13 hour surgery to remove. Jim Fiscus, of Pittsburgh, PA, now living in London, England.