Hoping to find someone who may have had a similar experience.
Diagnosed with TNBC early March this year type 3 aged 36, scans showed tumour to be 22mm(MRI) and first diagnostic ultrasound 15mm - doctors keep going from the 15mm measurement which I’ll question at next appointment. Had also spread to lymph nodes in local area.
Started on Immuno + Paclitaxel and Carboplatin, had reactions to immuno and Paclitaxel so had to stop immuno and switch to Nab Paclitaxel. Ultrasounds after 12 weeks and 10 treatments (due to immuno reaction and infection) has shown shrinkage to 8mm
Have switched to EC and on cycle 2 day 2 had another ultrasound where the sonographer said they’d been no change in size and that I’ll probably get called for surgery sooner than expected. (My treatment is neoadjuvant to surgery) To me it seems a little early and that the scan should have been at the end of cycle 2 of EC. My next appointment with Onc team won’t be for another 2 weeks. But my mind is racing and hoping to find anyone with similar experience where their shrinkage slowed upon switching drugs.
Also between my first 2 EC treatments I was diagnosed with a DVT in my arm and at my bloods prior to next chemo my ALTs had rocketed so instead of dose densing with a 2 weeks break it was 3 which might have also thrown everything out of context.
Any insight into what might be next would be greatly appreciated x
I’m also TNBC although my treatment was different to yours - I had EC first followed by Docetaxel. My tumour responded well to EC but the breast surgeon advised me before chemo started that they would stop the chemo and operate if they felt it wasn’t sufficiently effective - so may be that is the approach that they are taking with you? He said they would then carry on with the chemo - although may switch to a different type to ensure that any remaining cancer was destroyed.
My ultrasound reading of my tumour size was also considerably smaller than my enhanced mammogram - which is frustrating as I feel that the mammogram where they used a dye was more accurate!
Shrinkage to 8mm sounds pretty good though, so perhaps they’ve decided that it would be best to operate now whilst it is quite small rather than continuing with the chemo? Emma x
Do you remember at what point you had your scans on EC I’m wondering if it just takes a little time for it to start working for some people. As having it the day after 2nd treatment with only 1 complete cycle seems quite soon to me I’ll definitely be asking at next appointment.
Yes - I had a scan 3 days after my third EC - it does seem quite soon for them to scan you just after your second - might be worth asking to have the third dose and then another scan?
I had tnbc but I was much older than you when diagnosed. I was 67. I only had a lump under my arm -nothing showed in my breast.
They thought I had secondary breast cancer as I had some nodules on my lungs. So I was put on secondary treatment of nab+paclixatel and atezolizumab. I was only scanned three monthly. After 3 months of treatment it was decided lung nodules were benign, so I was re-diagnosed as primary breast cancer. But because lymph nodes were responding well I stayed on secondary treatment. Then eventually I had surgery.
I’ll definitely be asking at next appointment.
x