TNBC reduced cycles of EC

Going through breast cancer treatment Chemotherapy
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Hi TNBC - undergoing Neo adjuvant chemo surgery & radio planned for after.
4x Carboplatain / 11x Pacli - completed
Immuno - ongoing
Currently on with EC (2 of 4) after my first EC I was neutropenic sepsis and hospitalised for a week. My onco has singed reduced my dose to 80% for my second dose and put me on longer lasting GCSF inj. However she has also mentioned only going for 1 or 2 more cycles of EC instead of the initial proposed 4. Everything I read suggests 4 is the standard and I’m so worried about the risk of reoccurrence by only having 2 or 3 rounds of EC. I am struggling to get answers from my onc and don’t understand why we aren’t waiting to see how I tolerate the reduced dose first. Anyone have any experience of only having 2/3 cycles of EC? Thanks

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Hi I’m TN, I had 3 EC all at a dose of 90%, then was due Pac weekly and Carbo every 3 weeks (12 in total) my SE were building up and I had a a toxic reaction on the 2nd Carbo, so oncologist stopped rest of chemo, she said Id had enough to do the job, so I had 8/12, so I wouldn’t worry about having less than the original plan, apparently a large number of people end up not having the full amount. Having said that, I was due to have 5 Radio but because of being TN, family history and stopping chemo early, Im now having 10 Radio, 2 more to go. Forgot to say I had lumpectomy in Jan

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Hi @kmarie26 , I’m sorry you are having such a rough ride . Could you maybe talk to your breast cancer nurse about your concerns ? You could also ring the Breast Cancer Now nurses helpline to talk this through ?

Best of luck with the next stages of your treatment .

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I was tnbc 2017-2018 and after first fec hospitalised me with an infection my other 2 fec and 2 docetaxol (it was just tge 2 docetaxol because I had reaction on second one) then last chemo was back to reduced fec again. Remember your onc has seen it all before and treatments can alter during your cycles to ensure you get through safely :heart:I’m sure others will pop on who have been having similar chemo regime to you to offer any words of support they can :heart::two_hearts::two_hearts::sparkles::sparkles:Shi xx

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I had 3 x EC (1 every 3 weeks) and 9 x weekly Paclitaxel back in 2021.

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Hi @kmarie26
(TNBC July 2023)
I also only had 3 x EC neoadjuvant and wanted to quit after 2, but my surgeon convinced me to finish. Have you been having scans throughout your treatment? It’s a good indicator to see what’s happening and it would show your team if the treatment is working and whether you do need more chemo or not.

Also EC is the worst, I had a rough but ok time on carbo/taxol, but that EC wow it was awful! I had a hospital stay because of EC too, I was miserable. It’s easier said than done, but please dont stress yourself over this, it’s very normal for people to not get through all cycles of EC. It causes so much damage and on top of all the chemo you’ve already had, it just breaks you. You will have done everything you physically can :heart:

Definitely ask for some updated imagining even if it’s only an ultrasound!
Wishing you all the best :sparkling_heart:

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