Neoadjuvant TCHP - Post Results Here
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Agree - Neulasta is well worth the achey bones. Just take Claritin for a day before & 4 or 5 days after.
April - I had the full 6 rounds of TCHP but did not have a complete response. So after surgery I had A/C. Of course they had to stop the Herception for the duration of the A/C since they didn't want two drugs that could cause heart damage. Thank heavens any damage from Herceptin usually repairs itself.
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MinusTwo -- Ugh! 6 rounds of TCHP and then A/C!!! I'm glad for you that you're through it. Sounds horrible!
I didn't think that everyone had a complete response. Did the A/C give you that? I hope so!!!
I actually have no idea what sort of response I got from the TCHP... I guess I won't know for sure until after the surgery and path, right? ... The doctors seem to think my tumor has shrunk, but I'm not hearing anything more positive than that...! (and I've had an MRI and mammogram that they are looking at.)
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April: My docs also said they could tell the tumor was softening and shrinking, but that was all they said. I was surprised and excited about my pCR pathology report after surgery.
Steph: Hope you get home soon. Hugs!
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April - I had a PET CT and an MRI after TCHP & before ALND surgery. They believed the surgery got everything but because there wasn't a pCR, the tumor board all thought I should have more chemo before rads - so I lucked into AC. The AC was much harder for me to handle, but maybe it's just because I was already depleted from TCHP & surgery. It could be I got extra chemo because this BC was a recurrence. Original BMX was for DCIS two years before. Or it could be that since I'm ER/PR negative there is no ongoing treatment. Anyway, another PET CT after chemo/surgery/rads showed no "hot spots", so NED for now.
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April, I started chemo on December 16, 2014 ... I completed 4 treatments of A/C then on March 31 I had my first Herceptin and Perjeta. I felt so bad after the H/P with pounding fast heartbeats, nausea and feeling awful all afternoon and evening I didn't go back on April 1 for the 1st taxol treatment. I got the first Taxol the next Wednesday. I am suppose to do 12 treatments of Taxol, with Herceptin and Perjeta added on the 3rd treatment. So far I have only had 2 Taxol treatments. I will find out next Wednesday what the oncologist has planned. He told the chemo nurse he was going to a dosage adjustment. I guess he will let me know if I will be getting Neulasta shots again. I am suppose to do a year of Herceptin, but just 4 of Perjeta. Now it's just waiting for the neutrophils count to get high enough by next Wednesday. The chemo nurse said this happens and we just have to wait. There was nothing I could do but wait ! ... I hope the medicine kills all the cancer cells like it does my white cells ..
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DaisyQ -- Fantastic to hear about your great results! That does make me feel better to know not everyone was getting glowing reports before the path... I was beginning to worry that the chemo wasn't as effective as it could have been... but I guess we really don't know until after surgery.
MinusTwo -- Ugh... sorry to hear you had to have the AC after the TCHP. But I guess it makes sense for them to keep throwing stuff at the cancer if it's still hanging in there. And it's good to know there is more treatment you can get when it's necessary. Congrats on being NED now!
sophie14 -- If you're getting SEs, waiting is sometimes necessary. I had to wait a few days before my second cycle because they were worried about how it was affecting me. And my MO reduced my taxotere from my 2nd cycle onwards. All these treatments are really hard on the body, but on some people more than others. I'm sorry you are getting hit so hard by them. Hopefully they can figure out if they can reduce some of the dosages for you.
Aside from the reduced taxotere and few days delay, I got the fairly standard TCHP for 6 cycles, three weeks apart. I am SO glad I'm done with that!!!
I just got my first Herceptin-only infusion today. I feel a bit sleepy. I really, really hope I don't get side effects! I'm supposed to get this every three weeks for a year! I'm feeling pretty optimistic because I already had Herceptin with my 6 cycles of chemo... I just hope none of the SEs I had with chemo was due to the Herceptin, but most people seemed to think it was mostly the taxotere, and maybe the Perjeta...
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Just started 5th round of chemo/neoadjuvant TCHIP (out of 6). Tumor shrunk from 4 cm to about 1
cm and nurse practitioner thinks that is scar tissue only that she feels,
doctors won’t really say without an actual scan, called it undetermined “thickening”
maybe scar tissue, maybe breast tissue. I will probably wait till I’m done chemo in 6
weeks and then get an MRI. Nervous to know….any of you have the experience of a
thickening in the tissue that turned out to be PCR ?0 -
april, I hope the Herceptin-only infusions are non-events for you.
So far they have been for me, other than being really tired the evening after I get them. I think that's emotional though, for me, and not really something the Herceptin is doing.My echo results were good enough to keep doing Herceptin, so I'll get my 12th infusion a week from tomorrow. Yay!
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how on earth did you guys get through this treatment?!?? The fatigue is insane! The diarrhea is too much and something taste like my mouth was cut 100x
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Ali I'm sad you're having rough side effects I actually feel normal this week my diarrhea is gone thank god my mouth feels fine and my hands are healing from that terrible rash/burn I had on them the side effects seem to suck for about a week so just get through this week and it will get better. I'm sad I have to go back next Thursday and start this over again but we are strong girls and we will get through this! Hopefully the neulesta shot will keep me out of the hospital this time..Keep on drinking fluids
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alibeths - Drink fluids. Get extra fluid at the infusion center every week if necessary. Try Instant Breakfast and add protein powder.
stephmoen- glad you're out of the hospital. See if you can request an extra liter of fluid with your next infusion. And I hope the Neulasta works for you. Take Claritin the day before and several days after to help with the bone aches.
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I'm so happy you're doing better, stephmoen.
I agree for all experiencing troubles with treatment, fluids for all!!! Get fluids the day of treatment and a few days after treatment!
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Got my post-chemo MRI results... They don't look fantastic: partial/ Incomplete response... Wonder if this means more treatments after surgery? Or will surgery and radiation and herceptin and femara or whatever --which was already in line, do the trick???
I haven't heard from any of my doctors, just saw the test results posted online...
"The MRI findings are compatible with partial or incomplete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The hypervascular mass at the 12 o'clock position appears smaller but is still evident, measuring approximately 1.2 x 0.7 cm currently,
versus 1.9 x 1.1 cm previously. Both the morphology and the type of enhancement are similar to the prior exam, the latter characterized by plateau-type delayed kinetics, although the peak enhancement is actually slightly higher on the current exam. The
remainder of the breast is unremarkable."0 -
April25. I am not a Dr, but you have had chemo and if they get good clean margins with Lumpectomy and then Rads too, the only way they would change tx was if they found another kind or type in the beast (oops I meant breast). Don't worry yet !! I like the end of the report uneventful. !!
I am wacked out on steroids and the ambien they gave me is a joke. I prob won't sleep much tonight! On a bright note , I came out of a surgery in LESS pain than I went in!! I had Incision and Drainage of an infection in my axilla. Before i couldnt move arm at all. And a UTI better. . Have had 3 dose Vancomycin. Will spend the weekend here doc says. Fine with me. Quiet room, room service, no cleaning no dishes no sassy children and bingeing on Netflix a must! Plus i get to use my IPAD that is usually "borrowed" I am having a Spa weekend I told the nurses. Plus you get candy and coffee. Just glad this is in the rear window!!!! Setback for sure.
Love you guys!!
PMR53
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PMR, rest up! I'm glad you're feeling better.
april, I think the surgery will still be easier now, with better chances for clean margins. That was the goal for my BS and my neoadjuvant chemo.
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April - Cassie is right. Shrinking the tumor makes the surgery easier. Maybe the tumor is now small enough for the BS to be confident of clear margins. I think you'll still need the advice of the combined tumor boards. Especially since you're having a lumpectomy and not a total MX, and you're HER2+. Are you at a major medical center? I hated doing more & different chemo after surgery, but a panel of 8 docs thought it was the safest route for my future. Not fun but I was pursuaded and made it through.
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minus, im just curious. Which chemo was worse for you ? Ac or carbo tax?
I did act 2 years ago and now I'm on carbo and its rough!
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Alibeths - My main side effect from Taxotere/Carboplatin/Herceptin/Perjeta was diarrhea and I needed lots of extra fluid. They only had to postpone tx for a week one time due to low blood counts since I did have Neulasta every time. Of course I lost hair, but mostly saved my nails by icing. Unfortunately I did develop neuropathy in my feet & hands from the taxotere - another issue. When it came to the AC, I was only able to do 3 of the 4 rounds, and I thought it was a much worse regime. In retrospect maybe that was because I had AC when I was still puny & fatigued & down 60 lbs from the first batch of chemo and then surgery, but it still seemed worse to me. Good luck with the carbo.
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Thanks so much for the info.....Did you go for IV fluids...I have heard that helps!!! I think the diarrhea is from the perjeta?
At least there is no nausea with the carbo. : /
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no nausea? I wish I experienced no nausea
I started off strong & after my first treatment I though "hey this isn't so bad! I was nauseas for a week but survived without throwing up" .. Lo and behold by my 5th treatment simply coughing induced vomit. I quite literally threw up about 5 times each day for a week during that treatment and then oncologist said no more chemo for you, thankfully clear margins were the result0 -
PMR53 -- Thank you for the reassurance about my incomplete response.
I hope you are feeling better soon. Glad you're in less pain, anyway. And hope you get some rest in hospital.
I didn't ,mind my hospital stays, either. Having some actual spa-like services added would have made it SO much better, though. But getting food brought to me and not having to do anything all day wasn't bad.
CassieCat -- I guess I should be happy that the tumor shrank some. They did first think it was 3cm, then I had an MRI in Cycle 2 and it was down to 1.9cm, and now it's 1.2cm... but of course it would have been even better if I'd had a complete response...! And I do hope the margins will be clear, at least... My breasts were small to begin with-- so the docs were concerned that a LX might take too much tissue... But after chemo I went from a B to an A, so that didn't help! Even the surgeon was thinking twice from when he saw me a month ago! ...But he didn't suggest a PS, so I guess he thinks it'll be OK. I'm not worried TOO much about there being a huge divot, but it would be nicer if it wasn't bad, of course. I really, really hope the margins will be clean. I'm guessing I'll probably have to MX if they go back in again...! bleh.
MinusTwo -- My MO is at a small private clinic, but they are in West L.A. and hooked into the major centers here (my surgeon is at Cedars-Sinai, which is one center, MO associated with lots of folk at St. John's and UCLA, and the clinic has a number of MOs they all consult with). So-- they do things a bit differently... Not exactly sure it's as formal as a board, but they consult with each other. I guess I'll just wait and see what happens... I suppose a lot depends on the surgery and the path...
Yikes, you went down 60lbs! That's a lot of weight-loss! No wonder they, and you, were worried about the chemo SEs... Are you done now, though? I hope you're recovered from all that chemo! (and the rads and surgery!).
Alibeths and runningcello -- I only had some nausea... the meds usually took care of it, though. Only threw up a couple of times early on. I'm not sure if it's due to the taxotere or carbo or both, though. It kind of didn't matter, though, because I could barely eat... everything tasted like cardboard for a solid week, or two, mid-cycle. Luckily, I'd recover enough for the few days between that I could actually eat things and not waste away entirely. My main SE was diarrhea, either from the taxotere or Perjeta, and I needed IV drips constantly for that solid week or two mid-cycle... I wasn't keeping anything in me, food, or drink, so it kind of didn't matter if I was eating or not! ... Got through it, though! (Still having stomach/GI tract issues and some diarrhea, though. And some neuropathy (weak legs, one foot slightly numb).
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I felt like sharing a snippet of something I wrote recently:
The greatest tip I can offer to anyone is to remain positive and keep those that lift your spirits around you as much as possible. To be treated like a normal person is the greatest gift a family member or friend can give to their loved one enduring this diagnosis. It is essential to take care of oneself and to not exhaust oneself or spread oneself out too thin. Cancer demands your time and your energy during treatment but it is not permanent. It's just a little detour on the journey of life. Ensure that you are staying hydrated and nourished during treatment and if you're anything like me .. setup a way to receive fluids days after treatment to prevent dehydration and hospitalization. If your hair falling out is inevitable and you want to avoid the process of seeing your hair fall out until there is none left, just shave it off and make a party out of it. Take pride in who you are and what you are. Know that you are not defined by your hair or your physical features but by your spirit and your courage. Know that you will remain the most perfect reflection of God's grace even when you feel shattered and broken. Cancer does not determine the person you are or the life you live. You defeat cancer by ensuring it knows it will not defeat you and dictate your spirit.
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MY WEDDING IS ON SUNDAY!! Talk about a very eventful year! Got engaged, diagnosed with cancer, chemo, surgery, radiation & now I'm getting married. Wishing you all some great and positive news in your lives.
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congrats Runningcell! That brings a smile to my night 😊❤️
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Best Wishes Runningcello!
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congrats!!!!
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RunningCello - best wishes for Sunday and the years to come.
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ok I posted this on another thread but will post again here did any of you receive hormone depression if hormone positive while receiving the tchp to increase your chances for a pcr?
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RunningCello -- Many Congratulations and Happy Wishes on your Wedding!!! It sounds as if you're on your way to a wonderful start to the next stage of your life! Good Health and Prosperity to you both!
Stephmoen -- Not me, but then I'm PR- ...
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Congratulations RUNNINGCELLO !!0
