Amifostine to Protect From Side Effects of PSCT in Treating Patients With Solid Tumors

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells. Chemoprotective drugs such as amifostine may protect normal cells from the side effects of high-dose chemotherapy. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of amifostine in protecting from the side effects of peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have high-risk or relapsed solid tumors.