Chemotherapy Treatment – Practical Issues

The large majority of women who need treatment after a molar pregnancy will fall into the low risk treatment category. The most usual treatment for this is chemotherapy with Methotrexate combined with Folinic Acid. This treatment is generally well tolerated and does not cause sickness or hair loss. The treatment is given over 8 days with injections of Methotrexate given on days 1, 3, 5 and 7 alternating with a tablet of Folinic Acid (an antidote to the chemotherapy) on days 2, 4, 6 and 8. After the week of treatment, there is a rest week off treatment and then the treatment starts again with another cycle of Methotrexate injections.

Generally the first week of treatment is given as an inpatient over a 7 day period with the subsequent cycles given closer to home either by your GP or local oncology centre. 6 weeks after leaving Charing Cross patients return for an outpatients appointment to review their progress and to get a further supply of Methotrexate injections to continue their treatment locally.

Methotrexate chemotherapy can cause some side effects particularly producing sore eyes, sore mouth, abdominal discomfort and fatigue. Patients are given full information on the side effects of the drugs and how best to minimise the risk of suffering with any toxicity.

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