FEC chemotherapy, anyone had this for treatment?

Olive4

Hi,

I am waiting for my oncotype score to come back but currently I have been told based on pathology the benefit of chemo for me is 5%. I have been told by my MO that the chemo that would be used is FEC. I can't seem to find much about this and so far haven't found anyone on this site who has had this combination for treatment.

Has anyone had any experience of this? I see a couple of different treatments on here but not that one.

Thank you.

HelenWNZ

hi olive4 I am doing fec d. Have done 3 rounds of the d and am due my first fec infusion on 9th Sept. I found the d side of things pretty hard so am really hoping things are a bit easier. Not much help I am afraid.

Hope all goes well with you.

Helen

Olive4

Sorry to hear that the side effects have been so hard on you. I hope the FEC is easier for you to cope with.

I have no knowledge of any chemo drugs so just trying to gather info. I need to find out more information as to why they recommend one regime over another.

Best wishes Helen and hoping the FEC is kinder on you.

Olive4

Thanks so much kayb. I am in Canada.

Great to know that I can look at AC to give me some information.

I am wondering if ladies often get a choice of regimes? The FEC is 6 cycles every 3 weeks which seems a long time to complete.

I have been told that if I had chemo I would need a port which I am not so keen on either. Also they don't use cold caps so my hair will go. My MO says cold caps don't work but I have read about lots of ladies who have used them with great success.

Although I am waiting the oncotype I am trying to research as much as I can incase chemo ends up being in my treatment.

At the moment I have been told that chemo will give me a 5% benefit. I am really not sure if the benefits outweigh the risks right now. Such hard decisions we all face with breast cancer.

HelenWNZ

The port sounds worse than it is but having been hospitalised and with lousy veins it has been a god send for blood tests and Iv fluids etc.

While on fec I will be taken off herceptin due to the double heart risk.

Also yes the only guaranteed side effect is the hair loss. I shaved in preparation of the thinning I was experiencing when I started and now await the loss of everything. In nz I don't believe we cold cap either

Olive4

Thanks Helen and Kayb,

Lots to think about and research. Yes hopefully the oncotype will be low but I had a focal LVI so even if it comes back low I am thinking that maybe I should do chemo to mop up any stray cells but maybe the Tamoxifen alone could do that.

I think it's just the thought of the port that puts me off.

The whole hair thing just makes me want to cry but I will do what I need to do to get through.

Thanks again and take care ladies.

ErenTo

I had 3xFEC treatments, it's not too bad. I found taxotere worse. The key is to stay on top of your side effects and manage them before they get worse. Also take all the meds they prescribe as they really help.

I didn't get a port and my veins are not in good shape now, still not sure I would get a port for 6 rounds, but definitely worth considering.

Have you looked at cold cap for hair loss? There is a thread and I know that many women had good success with it.

Olive4

Thanks ErenTo,

Good to know that the FEC isn't too bad. They don't use cold caps here. I am in Nova Scotia.

ErenTo

I don't think it's a thing here in Ontario either, I didn't see any at my chemo clinic. I didn't care enough to even look into it, seemed like too much hassle for me. But I wasn't bothered by hair loss that much, though I know it can be traumatic for a lot of women. If you have long hair, maybe you want to cut is short before it starts to fall out. It's less shocking.

Olive4

Yes ErenTo I have long hair and have decided I will have to have it cut short prior to chemo if that's the road I end up going down.

Now to await the Oncotype result!

KarenInCanada

Hi Olive4

I completed 3 rounds of FEC and 3 of D on May 23. I also found the FEC okay, the D more difficult, I think the big difference in the amount of steroids for the D just made the crash so much harder. I went to Credit Valley and no one cold caps there. They did provide ice wraps for fingers and toes during D.

I also have a port as I have Hercepton still. As much as I despised the port at the start I love it now. You will see on the threads a lot of people use numbing cream before infusions with the port. My insurance did not cover it so I didn't get it (I had asked for it, after reading about it on here). It's just a quick poke that does not hurt any more than a needle really.

Good luck! PM me if you have any questions at all!

Olive4

Thanks Karen for the information. Just waiting on the oncotype so I know the plan. Lots of waiting with this process! Sigh!

HolaSandy

hi Olive,

So sorry that you have to do this too! I also had FEC-D (4 cycles of each every 3 weeks) and both had their downsides and upsides when directly compared. That said, overall I found the FEC more tolerable probably. My cancer centre doesn't do cold caps either and really, for me personally, I'm sitting there for 3 hours (at least) for each FEC infusion, I'd rather be comfortable. I found the port convenient as I also have crap veins, it was never really a question for me. The worst of the FEC for me was the nausea but it was well controlled with prescriptions.

Best of luck with your treatments!!!

stephincanada

Hi Olive,

I am currently doing FEC-D. Finished FEC, and just did one cycle of D seven days ago. I developed terrible acid reflux on the FEC, and so I am finding D more tolerable (but I've only had one dose of it so far). They say that FEC causes nausea and D causes bone pain. I didn't experience nausea on FEC and have only mild twinges of pain while on D. Tylenol gel caps have provided sufficient pain relief for me. I would ask your M.O. for a prescription for a stomach acid blocker so that you can take it as soon as you feel any heartburn. I didn't have this medication handy, and the acid reflux got out of control.

My M.O. did give me a choice of chemo. He showed me a study that indicated FEC-D had a higher survival rate that the regimen given in the US, but the Epirubicin in FEC is cardiotoxic. However, I found a study that showed the four risk factors for cardiotoxicity are: being older than 50, having high blood pressure, being obese and having a pre-existing heart issue. I had none of these risk factors and so I decided to go with FEC-D (my tumour is an extremely aggressive type and blew up to 2.1 cm in between two MRIs that were six months apart). I was just tested and, so far, the FEC does not appear to have impaired my heart functioning.

Five percent benefit seems significant to me, but what do I know...

All the best to you on this journey....

Stephanie