I probably should not even dwell on this at all but I have been reading through various posts seeing people talking about being on chemo for 4 treatments or 6 treatments or 6 months or something like that. I will be on chemo treatments for over a year possibly longer, its got me worried and the last thing I want to ask the doctor is how bad it really is cause we all know its bad.
Is anyone else having chemo as long as I am? (I don't have my papers here with me to show what all the drugs and lengths of doses will be)
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unklezwifeo… Joined: Aug 2009 Posts: 964 |
Oct 21, 2009 05:46 pm
unklezwifeonty wrote:
Chemo for early BC is given from 8 to 24 weeks depending on the drugs, dose and regimens.
Onty
Diagnosis: 7/31/2009, IDC, 3cm, Stage IIb, Grade 3, 1/9 nodes, ER-/PR-, HER2- |
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Madalyn Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 768 |
Oct 21, 2009 06:18 pm
Madalyn wrote:
Hi Cathi ... you won't be on chemo for that long. It's the Herceptin which continues every 3 weeks for a year. It's not chemo and from everything I've heard the side effects are very minimal. You can find more information about that on the HER2 forum. Then since you are ER+ too there are drugs for that also ... that is a pill that you take everyday ... for 5 years is the current regime. You are what is called triple positive ... and that's not really bad. It means you have all these new drugs available to you to reduce your risks of recurrence. Diagnosis: 3/6/2006, IDC, 3cm, Stage IIa, Grade 2, 0/4 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2- |
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bluedasher Joined: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,021 |
Oct 21, 2009 06:41 pm
bluedasher wrote:
Cathi, I notice that your signature line says "mets" - so I assume you are stage IV. A lot of us on this forum are early stage though of course there are also some with mets. For non-metastatic HER2+ BC, the typical chemo's are 6 3-week cycles of TCH or 4 2-week cycles of AC followed by 4 of TH and for both, in the US, the Herceptin is continued until it has been given for a year. Herceptin often gets lumped in with chemo but, as the others have said, it isn't really chemo. The real chemo part is about 4 months. But metastatic cancer has its own set of chemo regimens and they may be continued longer. Sometimes with mets, the Herceptin is continued for years. The whole world is a narrow bridge and the main thing is to not fear.
Diagnosis: 9/2008, IDC, <1cm, Stage Ib, Grade 2, 0/5 nodes, ER-/PR-, HER2+ |
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Susan57Cana… Joined: Oct 2009 Posts: 3 |
Oct 21, 2009 10:17 pm
Susan57Canada wrote:
Hi Cathicam: I started my chemo last November (2008) and will not be finished all of my treatments until next April 2010...meaning my treatments will in total last 17 months soooo...don't dispair! This last 'round of treatments started this past April and I'll finally be finished (I pray to God that these will be my last!) next April and let me say that this last set is a 'piece of cake', compared to the 1st and 2nd rounds so see...you're not the only one who has to undergo treatments for a year or more. AND don't think too much about the fact that you're treatments are going to last longer that others who've posted on a Bulletin Board! I'm living proof that things get better...I'm in great shape...the best shape I've been in...in years, I feel great...have great energy and stamina (more than before I was diagnosed!) and wake up every day justing waiting to get my day started! So keep the faith, sistah! All will be well at the end of the day! Keep in touch and let us know how you're doing from time to time, OK! BFN Diagnosis: 9/9/2008, ILC, 4cm, Stage IIIc, Grade 3, 0/8 nodes, ER+/PR- |
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apple Joined: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,295 |
Oct 22, 2009 10:47 am
apple wrote:
i completed 24 chemos.. AC X 4, taxol X 4... then i did 16 light dose taxols, every week for 3 wks and then a week off... surgery and radiation betw/ the two sets. that's a lot of bald, but not a lot of discomfort. i survived without hardly any interruption in my life. there is light at the end of the tunnel. i cried all through my last chemo. Diagnosis: 5/10/2008, IDC, 5cm, Stage IIIc, Grade 3, 4/9 nodes, ER+ |
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Cathicam Joined: Oct 2009 Posts: 36 |
Oct 22, 2009 10:56 am
Cathicam wrote:
Thanks Ladies for the information, I looked at the treatment plan that my doc layed out for me last night but forgot to bring it in with me. I have 1 treatment every three weeks for 4 rounds, then 12 treatments once a week of Herceptin and something else, can't remember the name now. Then Herceptin and radiation for 6 weeks, then 5 years of pills with a shot. I can't take the usual drug given as I have had a blood clot and the drug they usualy give can cause clots. It just seems like such a long time at this point. One day at a time is what I'm working towards, just one day at a time. Diagnosis: 9/10/2009, IDC, 4cm, Grade 3, 3/26 nodes, mets, ER+/PR+, HER2+ |
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