I’m happy with my Oncologist and what she’s suggested for me, but curious to read and know more. I’m starting 3xFEC/ 3xTax next week. I think Tax is newer and is thought to work well on women with nodal involvement, but if anyone has any greater knowledge I’d love to hear.
I too would like to know why different chemos are given. I’m on E-CMF, that is I’m having methotrexate instead of your tax. I’m oestrogen +, so whether that has anything to do with it. Also 1 node only affected, no vascular involvement, grade 2 tumour. I’ll google methotrexate and see if I can come up with anything, otherwise I’ll ask onc next week.
According to this article; ‘Taxotere has been approved for treatment of locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer’
healthsystem.virginia.edu/UVAHealth/adult_breast/chemo.cfm
So maybe if more nodes are involved or cancer is of grade 3, maybe that’s why??
There full guidelines by nice on the management of primary bc and tax but it also depends on your individual oncologist and budget, tax is more expensive, as well as of course your pathology. The nice website has all the details but your oncologist will know why you are on a certain regime and should explain that to you. Hope this helps. Tinaxx
Thanks Steph, I don’t know anything about methotrexate, but I’m Oestrogen positive too, so I’m not sure if your theory holds or not! I have 4/22 nodes, so more than you and was classified Grade 3. ER+/ PR+ / HER-ve. According to my Oncologist the Tax is advised for women with Nodal involvement, so that’s why she’s putting me on it. Maybe as you only had 1 node involved that made them chose another regime. Also as Tina says it does depend on your results as a whole.
Tina, I should have known you’d reply - thank you! I had a look at the Nice site, but didn’t you post elsewhere about some research you’d found? I can’t find that now and have wiped my browser history so can’t look back. If you read this and it’s easy to do, I’d love to read it again.
For anyone who’s interested, Tax is more expensive. Going back a few years now it was £1,500 per cycle, so as most of us have 3 that’s quite a lot. Am guessing it’s more now.
Hi Ladies,
Just to throw a spanner in the works I had 3 x FEC, 3 X TAX but I had no node involvement. I was told that TAX is the Rolls Royce of chemos for breast cancer but I have to admit to not remembering who told me that.
I had grade 2 ductal and lobular and am er and pr+, her-.
I have to say out of the two I preferred TAX to the FEC although I was lucky and didn’t have too many problems from either. I finished in January.
Love
Jane xx
Hello Ladies.
Haven’t started yet but I’m going to have 3FEC and 3 Tax, also tamoxifen and 3 weeks of rads . My tumour was 2.4cm (second tumour much smaller) and I’m pr+, er+, her- and had 27 out of 28 nodes infected 
From what my oncologist said I thought I was on the Tax because of the large spread to the nodes and Tax was the most aggressive treatment. Don’t know if age comes into it as well, I’m 49 and they keep in telling me that I’m young - very good for my ego !!!
Will be starting chemo in June sometime, don’t have a date yet.
Gill x
Taxanes work on the DNA of cancer cells and are thought of as very effective, I am starting on 4 tax after having had 2 Fec but allergic reaction to epirubicin. No nodes involved. I would like to think we are all getting the best, most effective treatment available not just the most cost effective! Naive maybe?
I had 4xtaxotere after 4x fec.I am grade2 triple neg with no nodes involved and no vascular invasion.It was a 2cm tumour.I think being triple neg is why I was given tax[dx Oct 2006]
Hi Tina
I know cost wasn’t an issue with my treatment. Although I am treated privately we made it clear to my onc that we would pay for anything that wasn’t available on the insurance to get the gold standard, and I am currently on the hideously expensive Avastin. But I also had 3 x FEC and 3 x Tax, and she was clear that this was the best possible combo - the FEC for the original breast cancer, and the TAX for the nodal spread (I also have a bone met).
finty
I’m counted as young too (don’t feel it!), but they said that’s why they’d throw everything at it and so that’s why Tax as well as FEC was a good idea. Oncologist said that as my tumour’s less than 2cm I probably wouldn’t have had chemo at all if it wasn’t for the nodal involvement. Really interesting to try and make sense of it all. Thanks to all for posting!
I was originally told by surgeon I was ‘borderline’ as to whether I needed chemo or not as cancer in the one node affected had ‘only just broken through capsule’.Therefore, I suppose low chance of spread.
On seeing onc, it seems that I’m better off by 7% by having chemo - not quite borderline in my opinion, so I accepted it.
That’s a new one to me ‘not broken through capsule’. Wonder what that means… Great you have a strong chance of it not recurring though Steph.
Hi everyone,
I hope you don’t mind a mets lady joining this thread.
I find this thread very interesting. Never thought about asking why, just trusted my onc that he knows the best type of chemo for me! And you ladies just made me think.
I’ve had 2 types of chemo so far, 6x3 Paclitaxel last year and now on 6x (or 8x) FEC. From my own understanding, FEC is actually 3 different kinds of chemo and target 3 different stages of cell division. So, as my chemo nurse it put: if one fails, I’ve got the other 2 as back up. It also has something special to do with the liver (I have liver & bone mets). And yes, it’s working very well so far - not only in knock out those cancer cells, but also me!! Not coping with it at all and will definitely discuss with my onc about solutions and alternatives.
Sorry, have got no experience with TAX, so can’t comment on that one.
Take care xx
Hi,
I start next Thursday the 3rd June on a course of 6 FEC. When I asked oncologist he said that I wouldn’t benefit very much from Tax so that was why I was to have just the FEC. I have node involvement 3/34 so fairly low score but still involvement. You got me wondering about the Tax now with respect for the node involvement… think I’ll raise it with the nurses on my preliminary visit on Friday.
I had grade 3 IDC lump 26mm on left and Grade 2 15mm IDC lump and 2 lesions DCIS on right removed on 7th April , also node clearance on left(3/34 positive) and sentinel node biopsy on right (came back clear)
Interesting thread,you got me thinking!!I hope I’m not just on FEC due to cost cutting:-((
Hugs Suze xx
hi all i was due to have 4 ec n 4 tax lumpectomy and 3 nodes involved. double negative. but i was neutropenic with first2 ecs so reduced th dose 3rd one had tonsillitus n felt ill so after that gave me antibiotics from day 5 which seemed to work had ameeting with onc after th 4th thinking i was going onto tax. he said ideally the ec n tax was th best combo for me but tax was nastier on white cells n if iwent into hospital n didnt get better he didnt want t b th one t tell my family. so he said wasnt worth th risk n th advantage of havin tax was only slight so kept me on ec n only hav t hav 6 so last one tomorrow!!! just hope its enough i guess we hav t take their advice hope this helps one of the ladies im in touch with was due t have 6 nwas so ill they stopped at 5 so i think they adjust to th individual rozitaxxxxxx
Julie - The outer covering of a lymph node is called a capsule. I guess if cancer hadn’t broken through the capsule, I might have got away with not having chemo. I dunno. At the time when you’re told, you can’t think of what questions to ask, it’s only later that you want to go into more detail.
Sounds like we’re all in the dark to a certain extent, which is okay so long as we trust our Oncologists. I do, as mine seems sound and sensible and was quite happy to answer all my questions. It’s just that the time you get with them is so small, so I started this thread to try and learn a bit more from one another.
Suze, I’d say it’s definitely worth asking about why you’re on FEC and not Tax too. On the surface it sounds like we’re not too disimilar. I have just one breast involved. 4/22 nodes, Grade 3, 17mm with a fair amount of DCIS too. Having said that there’s a lot more that they analyse to come up with a treatment plan, so we could be poles apart. Hope you get a clear answer. I start day after you on FEC. Will feel lots better once the first one’s through.
m1yu, sounds like you’ve more than been through it and are quite different in treatment to me. So sorry you’ve had a hard time on it all. Am wishing you more energy soon. Go ask more questions if you want to. I’ve found it really helps me to feel in control of it all - am probably kidding myself, but still!
rozita, sounds like you’ve had a lot to deal with as well. Must have been scary to be neutropenic. Take care of yourself and Yay to you for getting through. Look forward to the summer!
- Steph, thanks for the capsule clarification. Makes sense the way you put it! Nobody mentioned capsules to me but if they do, I’ll know what they’re on about now…
My neuts were 0.5 after the first fec and I had a neupogen injection and 5 days of antibiotics, I didn’t feel any different the issue is that one becomes so vulnerable to infection and won’t be able to fight it off due to low neuts. Have a neulasta injection 24 hours after chemo now, was only switched to tax due to allergic reaction to the epirubicin in fec. Will have the tax with cyclophosphamide. Will see how that agrees with me tomorrow!
Tina, am sending you as many good vibes as I have. Really hope it goes well tomorrow for you. Let us know you’re okay when you can. xj
Hi, having my tax now and after mego doses of dex and piriton I am so relieved it’s no dramas this time! Brain freeze from the cc, only doing cc in the hope it will help with better regrowth. Thanks for the kind thoughts!! Hope everyone is doing ok today. XxTina