Anyone on Taxol, Herceptin & Perjeta, then a round of AC?

fightergirl711

The short story is this - I am triple positive Stage III (see diagnosis) and I went and got a second opinion. My first treatment opinion was TCHP x6, the second opinion was HP x4, Taxol x12 and AC x4. I am going to need more surgery and radiation and hormone therapy. I went with the second opinion for many many reasons, not just because of the treatment recommendation. My diagnosis was brought to the tumor board at Dana-Farber, so I trust it completely. I'm just wondering if there are any other women who have had this regimen. I've had my first treatment this week and have not had any side effects, just a bit of tiredness last night. Thanks!

rainnyc

I'm stage III but not triple positive, and I did 6 full rounds of Taxol/Herceptin/Perjeta (i.e. 6 of H&P and 18 of T) before my bmx in September. This was at Sloan Kettering. The plan had been to do a course of AC after surgery and before radiation, but the pathology report came back NED, so they had me skip the AC and go straight to radiation. I've continued with H&P every three weeks though there is some question how long insurance will let me keep going with Perjeta since it's off protocol.

As for side effects, I found the Taxol/Herceptin/Perjeta to be tolerable. The worst SE was diarrhea, but once I figured out how to eat (blander foods the first three days of the cycle), that was okay. I was tired on days 3-4 but I could still go about my business. The day after treatment I was usually pretty wired from the steroids. I found the gastric side effects got easier over time, I guess because my body learned how to deal. I have a bit of residual neuropathy in the toes of one foot that started in week 11, and some mild lymphedema in one arm. But I am very grateful that the drugs have worked so well (fingers crossed)!

Good luck!

fightergirl711

rainnyc That's great news, thanks for sharing! Technically I already had surgery but margins and results weren't that great. I was worried at first about the Perjeta protocol of being neoadjuvant with insurance, but I'm still going to need surgery, so there's the work around for me. Not sure if it will continue after the fact, but that's a few months out at this time. Thanks again!