Hi - I spoke to my oncologist today and as my 3rd and 4th cycles of EC have been delayed due to neutrophils being too low she is thinking that instead of having Paclitaxol for 4 cycles every fortnight I will have it weekly for 12 weeks. She thinks my body will tolerate it better especially my bone marrow. So my worry is that I was on dose dense as my cancer was aggressive and required an aggressive treatment. Therefore now that EC ended up not being dose dense and Pax will also not be dose dense what does that mean for the effectiveness of the chemo for my cancer? I will ask my oncologist this but didn’t think whist I was on the phone as she had CT scan results to discuss and my other meds. Any thoughts would be helpful. Sx
Hi @sharync I had a similar question for my BCN today and she said there is no difference in effectiveness of treatment whether it’s dose dense or given weekly x
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Hi @herts82 - thank you for your reply. I hope so as mine will Not be dose dense now and I’m sure my oncologist said dose dense is more effective for aggressive cancers like mine?
Sxx
I had dose dense EC for 4 cycles, after 4 docotaxel 3 weekly. Below explains it I think..
Dose-dense chemotherapy is
a cancer treatment strategy that shortens the interval between treatment cycles—typically from every three weeks to every two weeks—while maintaining standard drug dosages. This approach reduces tumor regrowth time, leading to improved disease-free survival, particularly in high-risk breast cancer.
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I’m not entirely sure how it works but I would still consider weekly as dose dense. They arent giving any nasties much time to regroup are they.
Our bodies are all so different and they filter these things differently. They just need to find the best way for your body. As long as you continue treatment I’m sure your overall stats are the same
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Hi @jolou - yes that is my understanding. So my body cannot tolerate dose dense even with a dose reduction of 20%. I’ll just have to go with it as want to be able to complete the course. And not become ill. And try to not to think about the effectiveness. They are powerful drugs so will concentrate on that. Sxx
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absolutely, it is so tough. I am sorry you are in the middle of all this - it does pass, just impossible to think that when you are in the middle of it. sending love x
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