Progression on Adriamycin/Cytoxan

Washingt

Hi All warriors! My mom has completed three rounds of AC and learned today it has nothing to kill the cancer-PET scan shows some progression. We haven't completed Foundation One testing so that's probably next. Her local oncologist wants to start Abraxane, but said starting another chemo may kick her out of being eligible for a clinical trial. We are thinking about going to Cleveland Clinic for treatment. Any others have any advice or been in a similar situation?

JFL

That is certainly the conundrum with timing and clinical trials - one usually needs to be at the stage of treatment failure to qualify for a trial but waiting around for the trial to process its paperwork/get a patient set up and rolling in the trail typically results in significant delay and time without treatment. Something to keep in mind and to ask the doctor about so that if your mom does go the trial route, she knows what to expect regarding treatment delay. I do research a lot of trials and have applied for a hand full but this issue is what has stopped me from biting the bullet so far - worry about treatment delay, given the aggressive, fast-growing nature of my BC. Has your mom already done other standard therapies aside from AC? One factor in weighing clinical trials is the availability of good alternatives. It may not be necessary to go to a trial at this point if there are a lot of good therapies out there that are already proven to be effective (like Abraxane). Good luck determining the next step for your mom.