Can anybody help I am due to have 6 x FEC 75 and as i understand it this is or seems to be quite a common chemo regime to be given. I have a small, grade2, no nodes involved cancer.
What I want to know is do people generally have the FEC 75 or Fec 100 as their regime and also why isn’t everybody offered Tax as part of their regimes.
I have been doing some reading and Tax has proved to be excellent in eliminating any rogue cancer cells in the body - well surely that is what everybody wants when having chemo so why do some get it and others don’t. Is it a question of cost ?
Melx
Tax is generally recommended for patients with positive nodes, as I understand it. The NICE guidelines covers it:
Hi Mel
My onc explained it this way - FEC is best for preventing a primary recurrence, but Tax is better at dealing with any cancer that has spread. I was diagnosed with mets at original dx and was offered 6 x Tax, but after a couple second opinions decided to have 3 FEC and 3 Tax, as I also wanted to make sure the primary didn’t return.
If you have no node involvement, and small grade 2 lump, then your prognosis is good. I imagine your onc is thinking a local recurrence is much more of a risk than distant mets, hence just the FEC. I think it is unusual to have Tax unless there are nodes involved. Sorry can’t help on the 75 / 100 issue.
finty x
Hi I am seeing my onc on Thurs before my 4th dose of poison and am going to ask him this question. I am 44 and had WLE for a 29mm lump and ANC in which one lymph node was affected was also grade 3, however my regime is 6 EC 90 then three weeks of rads and no Tax, whilst i am glad that i do not have to suffer the se’s that Tax seems to bring i am curious as i did have node involment how my MDT decided on my treatment.
Best wishes Sal
Hi Sal
Could you post his answer as I would be very interested in what he says
Melx
Hi Mel
You and me both!!! Yes will certainly post what he says .
Sal
Hi all. Just joined!
I am from South Africa. Was diagnosed with a Stage II Grade III 3cm IDC E+P- No nodes. I’m currently on 3 x FEC100 and then 9 weekly taxol. I’ve read that Taxol can also be given in cases like mine where the cancer is Grade III and fast-growing, so has a higher risk of spread. The main purpose as explained to me by my Onc was to eliminate any micro-metastases that cannot be seen by any scans.
I’m getting my second FEC on Thursday. So far no severe side-effects!
Tess
hi everyone, now you have got me thinking, i had my original diagnosis 10 years ago, but developed another primary november 2010 on the opposite side
no nodes were involved either time both cancers graded 3,which i dont understand because the nodes werent affected.
my onc has given me 6 tax and platin, rads regime, NO FEC he said my type of cancer is better dealt with using tax.
both my cancers were primary, and now i am being led to believe fec is better in treating them.
is it a lottery, omg i have endured weeks of misery on tax to now be wondering whether it is even the best drug for me to have had, i so wish i had asked more questions and not just taken his word for it
Hi, i’m going to throw a spanner in the works…
I was 36 last year at dx, 17mm idc grade 3, no nodes involved and no LVI. I was given 3 fec, 3 tax by my onc. Apparently i was borderline and could equally have had 6 fec. In fact my best friend, who is an cnslt breast oncologist, said she’d have probably opted for 6 fec. The decision was partly patient led as i was very eager to have anything they could throw at me, and my onc thought i was fit and strong enough for it. Also he said that as i was only weakly ER positive, my cancer might behave more like a triple negative and he used tax in those circs, as the benefit gain from tamoxifen would be hard to tell. Hormone status, size of tumour, grade of tumour, age, node involvement, LVI, patients health and age, her status are all things to be assessed when making the decision.
The on line adjuvant calculator can show the benefit of no chemo, only first generation chemo (eg fec), and first pkus second generation chemo ( eg fec and tax) so oncs are guided by this too.
Incidentally, tax was certainly harsher on my body but it was preferable for me than fec as the nausea with fec realky affected me physically and emotionally.
Vickie
I am nodes involved grade 3 her 2 primary unknown and had 4 fec and 4 tax just in case there was a primary and just in case there was micro spread.
Liz, Grade doesn’t refer to the extent of spread, it indicates how different the tumour cells are from normal ones so is an indication of how fast growing it is. Stage is the description that means how far it’s spread. I would guess you’re stage 2 as no nodes, but grade 3 as it’s a fast growing one, which would explain the Tax.
There’s an explanation here of stage breastcancercare.org.uk/breast-cancer-breast-health/diagnosis/your-diagnosis/cancer-stages/ and grade here breastcancercare.org.uk/what-grade-is-the-breast-cancer
I’m 45 and Stage 3a, Grade 3 by the way, 28mm lump with 6/12 nodes affected, ER+(6/8) and I’m having 3xFEC 3xTax, with Tax 2 tomorrow.
Jane
I’m 36 and a grade 2, ER+ (dunno how positive though) with node involvement, but I’m just (!) having FEC, no TAX. Only 3 out of 13 nodes were affected, and this seemed to be why no TAX for me, as they said if I’d had more nodes involved, I would have had 4 FEC, 4 TAX. Although I want everything thrown at it, I think i’m happier having 6 not 8 cycles. So I too would be interested to hear what Sal’s onc says.
Al x
hello ladies
Im having x6fec, 1 node micro, im 46, i must ask my onc why no tax? seems strange all the different regimes.
Donna
xx
I was initially down for 3FEC 3TAX, but switched back to FEC after the first TAX because I did not get on very well with it… to put it mildly! I had a 32mm, Grade 3 tumour, 1+node involved. The onc. I saw about the TAX problems said she would not have put me down for TAX anyhow as felt it was overkill, and that switching back to FEC would be fine. Another onc who was consulted said exactly the same.
If I could have tolerated the TAX I would have stuck with it, even if it only made .5% difference… which is really all about it was, with my dx, but have now finished off with FEC instead.
My tumour was er++++++++++++++++++ (!) so I do know I have the back up of tamoxifen too… not that that is something I am looking forward to with huge joy… Oh, and I’m 42.
Sophie xx
Hi
I had 3 fec and 3 tax, her+ er/pr 0/8( vvvvvvvvv negative) with 1 node, 19 mm tumour. My onc said I was borderline and could have just had 6 fec. The deciding factor, they said was not the node, but my age at dx which was 38.
Debx
Hi All
As promised i asked my onc about the tax thing and she said beacause i had 13 nodes removed and only the one showed any signs they believed that this one had done its job and died in the line of duty so to speak!!
If more had showed up then i would have had the tax.
I feel much happier knowing the basis on which they decided on my treatment.
Love Salx
I believe the choice between 75% and 100% FEC is based on factors like age and general health. Your details are fed into a computer programme which recommends a treatment along the lines that other people have described.
At one point, someone suggested changing me from 100% to 75% because I was having a lot of unpleasant dizzy spells, probably due to lowered blood pressure, and perhaps my age (63) but the Onc asked me if I preferred to continue on 100% and get it over with, which I do. I’m on sick leave and don’t have children at home, so I have the option of lying down all day when I have to. (Incredibly boring after a while, though.)
Cheryl
Hi Vickie
I’m still on my 2nd FEC and the nausea is pretty bad, although I only have it for the first 3-4 days after treatment. Am worried about Tax now with all the talk about it being harsher than FEC. My onc told me that the FEC was the baddy and the Tax was the easy one, but I’m apparently getting a lower dose weekly instead of the high dose every 3 weeks. What side-effects did you get?
My onc also uses adjuvant online.
Bump
Hi smg,
i had no nausea on tax, which was a very very welcome relief. Its odd to try and describe it, but it was sort of like every cell in my body was jangling. I was just drained and shaky and achy. But its the home stretch and you are on a countdown to finishing, and really only 7 to 10 days after the 3 cycles were bad for me, so that was 21 to 30 days total, and thats doable and i think a fair deal, zap the baddies for a few days of feeling poorly. Good luck
vickie