Well the day that i thought i was fine about has arrived. Its 7.30 and this morning i am of for an ultrasound to check for shrinkage then to see the onc. He will then decide if my last 3 are FEC or if i am swapping.
You think that you have your head totally round something but as usual this blooming bc is proving thats never the case.
I got rid of the kids to my mums last night so we could be in plenty of time this morning and not rush for once, but that has left too much time to think.
What if it hasn’t shrunk much, does that mean a poorer prognosis? How would i cope with taxotere, what if that doesnt shrink it? All these questions and many more have been running round my head for most of the night.
I have assured my hubbie (wrongly) last night that i am fine with today. He needs to go back to work after the appointments, he finishes on leave today for a few days as it is school holidays in Scotland and if he doesn’t go back he will end up in tomorrow and the kids and i will be on our own again. Love them to bits but last FEC has left me aching and tired so struggling a bit.
Lets hope i can keep it together and that the news is good. Sorrry for the moan, it’s all i seem to be doing at the moment.
Hi Lesley
in a few weeks i’ll be in the same position as you - what if? And i know it ain’t going to be easy. On the positive side, at least if the chemo hasn’t attacked the tumour we will know for sure and have the option to continue with something different.
I’m on TAC, which includes the dreaded taxotere - but if i can do it, so can you - if needs be!
Sending you huge hugs though, hope that your worries are unfounded and that the FEC has shrunk it beyond all expectations.
hugs
Ruth
x x x
I was in your situation a few weeks ago and luckily mine has responded quite well and the onc was happy. Fingers crossed its the same for you. Let us know how you get on
Know how you feel, was there about 2 weeks ago, when had to have ultrasound to see if any shrinkage after my 3 FECs. Unfortunately can’t give you good or bad news, as we have not heard what the results were, see onc next Wednesday, although I have now had 1 taxotere too, and I have to say, I can’t feel the lump in my right boob as much as I did. So not sure if FEC did anything, or whether tax has come along and zapped it, but the worry is there isn’t it.
I was like, what if no shrinkage, or they tell me its worse. What if my spread to liver is worse or not reacting to chemo. Think you just have to wait and see and keep everything crossed for the best. I hope you get your results quick and put your mind to rest.
Thanks for your thoughts. I am now back and very frustrated. When i was originally dx in Aug nothing showed up on the ultrasound or mamo but i was assured that the radiologists did not feel that an MRI was necessary and that follow up ultrasounds would give them the info they needed.
Guess what, nothing showed up on the ultrasound today. The onc believes that the clinical presentation is improved, softer and more diffuse, but cant really tell re size as there may be some inflamation. So they now want to do an MRI before next chemo on the 31st, followed by a further MRI to check for shrinkage between chemo’s. This means i’ll stick to FEC for the next cycle but he may change me after that and make it 8 not 6 cycles.
Onc was really good and took his time but it makes you wonderwhy didn’t they just do an MRI before i started. I did ask for one but didn’t push it when i was told it was not necessary, maybe i should have been firmer, but you have to trust someone.
Suppose it’s a bit of good news that the onc agrees its softer and less defined, but the lack of answers, delays and more scans P******s me off.
Anyway husband is stopping work tonight for long weekend and the weather is good, so not all bleak. He might even still be able to walk home from the pub after watching the football.!!!
oh Lesley,
how very frustrating for you! Amazing really that something they couldn’t detect before they think they can detect later. i wonder what planet they are on sometimes?
At least you can get an MRI so soon, just a shame they didn’t do it before.
welcome home though, hugs, enjoy the break with your husband and kids
Ruth x
Hi Lesley
I had understood that the onc was going to check during chemo whether my tumour had shrunk and that would tell us whether the chemo was working or not. Yet the only test was at the third of 6 FECs when the onc felt my tumour and asked if i thought it was getting softer (I did). This seemed very unscientific given all the technology that had been used for the diagnosis - i had thought i would at least have a mammogram. Like you I too was mighty disappointed and began to worry that not only was I suffering treatment which might not be working, but also that perhaps I ought to be pushing for the surgery to be brought forward.
It was only at the end of the 6 doses, however, that i learnt that the onc had been looking only for no further growth at that stage, rather than actual shrinkage. In the event, i had what is termed a “full response” to the chemo and my tumour more than halved in size - i was very very fortunate. So even with such a good outcome, it was not clear at dose 3 whether it was having an effect, other than that the tumour was not growing.
Re the MRI my understanding is that this test is not usually used in diagnosis - the combination of mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy give the team the information they need pre surgery. Once you’ve had the biopsy, however, there is bound to be a lot of inflammation and that makes it hard to see what’s going on, so perhaps that’s why an MRI is being considered now. I’ve not had an MRI at any stage of my treatment.
I do hope you don’t have to have extra chemos - mind you, they did seem to get slightly better after the first 3.
Thinking of you
Sarah
XXX