How soon after chemo should results be seen?

HerSister

How soon after beginning chemo, did you see improvement in a breast that displayed symptoms of IBC?  I understand that everyone reacts differently and that treatment is different for everybody, but I was wondering how soon after beginning chemo is reasonable to see improvements in a diseased area (specifically breast)? 

My sister actually asked me to ask this.  She is convinced that there has been no improvement in her diseased breast and is actually concerned it is larger than prior to beginning chemo (completed her 4th treament).  However, she did have an enlarged lymph node under her arm that is gone.  She has mentioned her concerns to her onc., who keeps saying "it's better" but my sister is not convinced.  She said she heard somewhere about someone who saw no improvement in her IBC breast and as a result, was removed mid-chemo.  She is going to try to get a second opinion, but would really appreciate any input from others.

Karina121293

Hi HerSister. Does your sister have US in between the chemos, which will tell the changes in the size of the tumor??? I used to have them every 21 days before the new circle. After I completed the four rounds of neo-adjuvant chemo , my tumor which was 3.7 cm at diagnosis, was already 1.5 cm, though the path. report after surgery said 2.0 cm. But after each round I could feel the tumor shrink, especially the first two days.Hope this helps and you get more answers soon. Sending lots of positive thoughts.

Karina 

leisaparis

It is really hard to tell with IBC, but if her lymph nodes have shrunk then more than likely so has her mass. I know IBC is not like other cancers. We normally do not have a lump unless we also have another kind of cancer with IBC. We have a mass and in time she will be able to feel it soften instead of being hard. It may take a few treatment. Tell her not to give up hope. I didn't have any other tests during. Just blood work every week. I know every center & dr. treat everyone differently so depending on where she's having her treatment done at will depend on how they do things there. Good luck & God Bless. Keep us posted. Hopefully she'll get some relief soon.

ibcmets

Her sister,

I was happy that my onc had Pet scans run every 3 months the first year to detect what was working and what was not.  I was able to see gradual improvement throughout chemo.  IBC is tricky and I was concerned that I still had the red rash throughout all my chemo, but the chemo totally got rid of a 3.5cm tumor and my breast  tissue was not as hard. 

I think regualr scans are important to see what's happening.

Terri 

HerSister

Thank you everyone, for your replies.

My sister went to the onc. (breast specialist) that she got her 2nd opinion from when she was first diagnosed.  I guess you could say she got a 2nd, 2nd opinion, lol.  She explained to this dr. that her onc. has not done any further scans/US/mammograms, that she keeps saying that her breast is better (basing this on examination only), but that she (my sister) didn't see any improvement & actually thought it might be worse.  Important note: my understanding is that this 2nd onc. received copies of my sister's records prior to her appointment.  This 2nd onc. said that she would've changed my sisters chemo cocktail by now & that she wouldn't have lowered her initial dose (she went into anaphylactic shock at her 2nd or 3rd treatment, so her dose was lowered 20%, 'tho this probably happened because she forgot to take decadron and they apparently rushed it through her IV too fast & it didn't work) and that her prognosis was not good.  This 2nd onc. also would not take on my sister as a patient mid-treatment, but that she would after chemo.

So, my sister went back to her treating onc.'s office (her treating onc. is out 'til next week) and insisted on a PET CT scan.  Apparently, partner oncs in the same practice must've approved it because she had the scan on Tues.  She got to pick up the results the next day & bring them in to her 5th chemo treatment the next day (so she read them in the car on the way in).  In comparison to her 1st scan approx. 3 months ago, there was a lump under her arm (same side as affected breast) that is now gone, her breast has improved (don't recall exactly how the report worded the improvement), there has been no spread & interestingly enough, the first scan picked up that she had a fatty liver and that is gone now, too! Praise God!

It's just frustrating to think that her onc. wouldn't have ordered any scans/US/mammo's until AFTER chemo was completed (she has like 1 or 2 more to go after her 5th this past Wed.). If her onc. had been in the office, I wonder if she would have approved my sister's insistence on getting a scan done.

I had briefly told her what all of your replies said & she agreed it was important to have at least one scan (if not regular as Terri stated) during treatment. She was so worried that it wasn't working (she would kinda ignore the fact that the lump under her arm was better, she was just so obsessed w/ that affected breast), that she was thinking she may have to have her mastectomy now, mid-treatment.

Karina - an US might not work in my sisters case because she does not have a tumor, but the typical IBC sheeting, which did appear in her initial mammo (& was basically diagnosed w/ it, 'tho they did perform a biopsy).  I did explain to her that one woman (you), does have an US after every treatment, but that you have a different type of BC, w/o sheeting & told her I didn't know if an US would pick-up changes in IBC layers during treatment.  I think she's going to talk to her onc. about having these regularly if they will work for her.

 leisaparis - you weren't worried during treatment, that things were working? Or, were positive results very obvious for you?

ibcmets

I'm so glad you're an advocate for your sister.  After the first year, I get scanned every 6 months now.  I am very relieved to have an oncologist who monitors me very well.  I know my health is being taken care of.  I'm glad your sister is showing improvement.

Terri