Tx after recurrence

Sbengis

My wife, Penny, recently had a recurrence of TN resulting in a right breast mastectomy.  Given her previous treatments with ACT/AVASTIN (clinical trial) and radiation, the conventional oncs have all advised "no treatment and wait and see".  Their logic:  There aren't any known preventive drugs that have enough research validity to warrant the downside risks of the chemo.  We are exploring a range of integrative, alternative and off-label drug interventions with various doctors.  My question:  What if any interventions are being used by anyone who had a recurrence but is at a stage where there is no measurable disease, i.e., recurrence but no metastatic disease yet?  Thanks so much for any ideas.

justpayton1

Hi there..

I had a recurrence in March of 2010 after being off tx for about 5 months. I was put back onto tx of Gemzar/Carbo for a total of 6 cycles. After 3 cycles a scan was done and it showed no progresssion. Currently I am on Gemzar as a single agent every other week given over a 2 hour infusion. I started Gemzar as a single August 10th and so far am doing fine. My Onc has been using Gemzar as a "maintenance". I am due for a scan the end of Oct. My Onc is hoping that a PARP will free up for compasinate use.

I hope this answers your question..

justpayton1

Hi there..

I had a recurrence in March of 2010 after being off tx for about 5 months. I was put back onto tx of Gemzar/Carbo for a total of 6 cycles. After 3 cycles a scan was done and it showed no progresssion. Currently I am on Gemzar as a single agent every other week given over a 2 hour infusion. I started Gemzar as a single August 10th and so far am doing fine. My Onc has been using Gemzar as a "maintenance". I am due for a scan the end of Oct. My Onc is hoping that a PARP will free up for compasinate use.

I hope this answers your question..

Sbengis

Thank you so much for sharing your tx regimen.  I apologize for being off the forum for so long.  I thought I would receive an e-mail if anyone answered, but I guess that isn't how it works (I don't post a lot).  Your regimen is the exact regimen that three integrative doctors have recommended to my wife, but not a single traditional onc seems willing to treat her.  We traveled from MA to chicago to visit Dr. Block at the Integrative Cancer Center in Evanston.  They want her to come soon for tx, but the cost and logistics are daunting.  Did you find a traditional oncologist willing to give you the carbo/gem combination?  Also after enduring the ACT plus AVastin regimen, my wife is dreading another round of chemo.  We are trying to determine the side effects she might encounter.  Would you be willing to share your experience?  Thank you again.

thenewme

Hi Sbengis,

So sorry about your wife's recurrence!   From reading your previous posts, it looks like her recurrence was in July - is that right?   Did she have scans after MX that show her to be NED?  Is she having any symptoms?  You say she has no measurable disease, so I'm not sure why chemo would be recommended for her.  It's fairly common and even "standard" protocol that no treatment is used unless/until symptoms present (ie. watchful waiting).   Some data suggest that the prognosis for recurrence isn't really changed with early detection as it is for primary BC.  A lot of us do have monitoring via scans, lab work, etc., but a lot of us don't. 

A lot of us do try to make healthy choices with regard to diet, exercise, and lifestyle.  Some of us try integrative/alternative therapies, and some just try to move on and presume to be cured.  We certainly understand her dread of another chemo!  What kind of therapies is she considering?