Diseases Treated

Chemotherapy

What happens after I leave the hospital?

You will be given a sheet of instructions before you are discharged. You will need to get a weekly blood sample for beta hCG. You can get it done here at Brigham and Women's Hospital, or you can choose to have it done at a lab closer to your home. If you choose to have testing done at another lab, they must fax the results to our office at (617) 975-0900. We are not concerned about the actual number of hCG units, but rather the progressive drop in the hCG level after evacuation.

If the hCG titer drops steadily we wait and watch the weekly tests until a normal level is achieved (less than 5 milliIU/ml). Once the hCG level is normal for three consecutive weeks you will switch to monthly hCG tests for six months. If you had a partial molar pregnancy and if your hCG level becomes normal within seven weeks after your evacuation (D&C) you will only need to be followed for three months. If you had a partial molar pregnancy and if it takes longer than seven weeks to reach a normal hCG level then you must be followed for six months. During this follow-up it is imperative that you do not get pregnant since we cannot easily differentiate between an early pregnancy and tumor tissue regrowth. At the completion of either your three or six-month follow-up period you may get pregnant when and if you so desire.

If you have any questions or problems call us any time. Always call if oral toxicity from the chemotherapy is so severe that you cannot drink approximately 2-3 quarts of fluid per day, if you have any heavy vaginal bleeding, severe headaches, or if you have a temperature over 101.5 degrees.