Hi i need some help in explaining things. I thought i would ask here first as don’t want to sound thick when next see oncologist… i have read literature given but still confused.
I believe there are different types of chemo. does it depend on type of cancer you have.
I have been told i will be having fec treatment. 6 doses every three wees but i can stop after four and still be allowed herceptin. i just see how i can cope.
As i travel out of area i asked if all my treatment done at same place I was told yes. I have read various things on here and most people seem to have fec with something else. one mentioned was taxotere. please can anyone expand on this for me.
i am worried as my local hospital does the lot and hospital i am being treated as doesn’t. People seem to have half at luton then go one and half hours journey to mount vernon for other. That would be two and half hour journey for me…
Any help is grateful or any q i should ask next visit.
Have a nice day.
Julie
Hi Julie
Yes there are different types of chemo - and yes it does depend on your diagnosis, amongst other things, which one or which combination you will be given. Your onc will also take into account factors such as the type of cancer you have, where it is in your body, whether it has spread and where it has spread to (if it has), along with age factors etc
With regard to the number of treatments, NICE guidance recommends that adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer should consist of 4 to 8 cycles of a combination of drugs, including an anthracycline (epirubicin or doxorubicin).
As I understand it the use of a taxane such as docetaxol (Taxotere), is recommended for use after surgery for women with early stage breast cancer who have lymph nodes under the arm that contain cancer cells.
I 'm 46, and had a grade 3 tumour, with 5/11 nodes affected, and her2+ - my treatment regime consists of 4 x fec, radiotherapy, 4 x taxotere and 1 year of herceptin.
I’m sure if you have any questions relating to your treatment plan your BN or onc will be able to tell you why this is (in their opinion) the best course of treatment for you.
When I queried mine, my Onc went rhrough the various treatments and explained how they affected my prognosis.
Every patient is different - therefore every treatment plan will vary too. Given your concerns I think the main question you need to ask the onc is to explain why they have chosen this particular regime for you.
I hope you get the answers you are looking for
take care
Margaret x
My original plan was 6xFEC (standard for local auth), then once my HER2 results were through my Onc got extra funding and I was switched to 4xFEC 4xTaxotere + 18 Herceptin. *this was because I was diagnosed Dec 2005 10 months before NICE guidelines changed for primary. The reason I got switched was due to high lymph node involvment. 6 FEC is still normal practice in Oxfordshire but I know women who have stopped earlier if they are really struggling and their path report is on the better side of stats.
Debbie
hi Thank you both for your replies.
It has helped and i understand a bit more. Both your replies have led me to a further q. You both mention NICE guidelines and i have seen in other threads. Please can you tell me where i can find more about guidelines as i think it might b interesting.
By the way i had invasive duc cancer so had lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy. nodes were clear but found ductal cancer in margins so had mastectomy and as no rads needed i had reconstruction at same time. i need tamoxifen and herceptin and chemo as a safety measure.
thanks again
Julie.
I was given 4xFEC and4xTaxotere because my cancer is triple negative so no herceptin or hormone treatment for me.I had no nodes involved but still got the big guns straight away.
Hi Julie
The Nice (National Institute for Health & Clincial Excellence) guidelines apply in England and Wales and can be accessed via this link
nice.org.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=byTopic&o=7168
Just follow the links in the text to look up different areas.
In Scotland you would need to consult the SIGN guidelines at sign.ac.uk/pdf/sign84.pdf
Hope this helps
Margaret x
hi horace
I am also triple negative (to hormones and HER-ve) - mine is/was medullary - you aren’t by any chance the same are you? I had no nodes either but the lump was very big so they decide to err on the side of caution .
also - Margaret - I am having the same treatment as you except I’m having 4 x FEC And then 4 x TAX and then radio - I wonder why it’s the other way round ? any idea?
good luck Julie - I foound the acronyms were difficult to understand - you probably know that EPI and FEC are the same thing … that one got me very confused …
thanks
FizBix xx
Hi FizBix
I have no idea why my rads are in the middle - it’s just the way my health board do it! - and that’s the answer I got when I asked my BN!
and by the way - just to butt in on your other comment - EPI and FEC are not technically the same thing, one is contained within the other - EPI (epirubicin) is a single chemotherapy drug, FEC is a combination which contains 5-FU, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide.
And as it’s now 4.05 am - perhaps I should try getting some sleep !!!
take care
Margaret x