Hi everyone,
I’ve finished 6 months of taxol chemo in the beginning of Dec, 09 and I coped really well and it was really effective. However, a few days early, liver mets was discovered and my onc has suggested FEC chemo, with 30th April pencilled in as the starting date.
I’m not so sure that I’ll be able to cope with more chemo after such a short break. My onc is not certain that this will work for me - well, nothing is certain with this illness, but when he actually says that, it doesn’t give me much confidence!
Just would like to gather some info from you ladies out there who have had both of them (not at the same time of course!) or are having one of them:
- Which one did you have first?
- What’s the gap in between?
- What’s the SE of FEC compare to Taxol?
- How effective were/are they?
I know we all react to chemo differently, but it would really help me. And of course will repeat those questions when I see my onc next time.
Thanks in advance xx
I had both FEC and Taxol to shrink my tumour before having surgery. I had FEC first - 4 cycles at 3 week intervals, and then weekly Taxol. There was no gap in between the two i.e I had my 4th FEC and at the end of the 3 weeks I had the first Taxol instead of another FEC.
I had no side effects to speak of with the Taxol so that was the milder of the two however the FEC wasn’t at all bad for me. I felt a little nauseous for the first couple of days of each cycle and tired for the first week but the second and third week of each cycle I was back to normal. The main troublesome side effect was constipation but that was due to the anti-nausea meds rather than the chemo so that resolved after the first few days.
FEC was extremely effective for me, shrinking the tumour from 15cm to 4cm however the Taxol didn’t work at all and the tumour began to grow slightly so although I was supposed to have 12 cycles it was abandoned after 5 and I went straight to surgery at that point. I am now recovering from my Mx and ANC and waiting to hear what the next step will be, it’s possible I will have another couple of cycles of FEC as that worked so well for me, the prospect doesn’t worry me as even though it was harder that the Taxol I still found it very do-able!
HTH
Linda
xx
Can’t advise re the questions you ask. But just wanted to add in that with mets you will likely need some form of treatment for the rest of your life-with short breaks if the disease ever becomes stable. I’m on month 29 now of chemo without a break-you can do it! We have to…
Hi
I had FEC when I had my bone mets (and local recurrence) diagnosed 2 years ago. I didn’t have chemo with my primary dx so only know how FEC felt. I was pretty much the same as Linda and made sure I took all the anti nausea tablets that I was given - although they do cause some constipation. I worked throughout the 4 months I had FEC, on weeks 2 and 3 although only parttime. I lost my hair just before the 2nd cycle but gradually rather than all in one go. I also had to postpone a couple of treatments due to low neuts - having said that they weren’t that high before I started. It certainly is do-able and the only way I dealt with it was to put my head down and just get through it - just as we all do. I had scans at the beginning, midway and at the end - which showed good shrinkage on my recurrence and no progression of my bone mets - in fact they showed healing but this could be down to the bisphosphonates. I hope it works for you and make sure you sort out some treats for yourself on the weeks when you feel like it 
Nicky x
Hi m1yu,
I started on FEC at primary diagnosis, but within a few weeks they had found my liver tumour, and my blood count had hit rock bottom, and they switched me to taxol. I have to say i was very sick (vomiting & nausea) with FEC, less so with taxol, but by then I was taking everything going for the nausea (and constipation like I’ve never had in my life!) A lot of the time i was having weekly taxol, to try to keep my blood count at a reasonable level. I had neutrophil injections and missed a few treatments too.
Almost all side effects can be reduced with some other form of medication, if you don’t mind counting out pills every day. And some of those pills give you other side effects, of course. It’s just a matter of letting them know if you’re suffering, and taking everything that’s offered.And everyone’s different, not only on how they respond to the drugs, but in which side effects they find tolerable and which they just can’t stand.
I started my chemo on April 30th (2007) - I remember as it was my son’s birthday (and I had WLE on husband’s birthday that year too).
All the very best with your treatment
Jacquie xx
Oh I forgot to say, for the record, I had excellent shrinkage
Jx
Hi ladies,
Thanks for the info, thumbs up for the effectiveness of FEC, then! Hope it will work for me, too.
ElaineD, you must be a really tough lady to go throu 29 months of chemo without a break.
I’m still very nervous about having more chemo, however, I don’t think I have any choice. As one of my friends rightly put it: I’ve got nothing to lose to give it a try. So, I’ve cut down the waiting time and brought the chemo forward to this Fri…
Take care all & thanks xx