FEC chemo

I started FEC-T in January, finished up at the end of April.

It is used more commonly in Canada and other Commonwealth counties, in the US you are more likely to get AC/T. My Onc said it was "better" but I just think they decide on a standard protocol.

I had a lot of nausea with the FEC part, mostly on the same day after my infusion.  They do give you a lot of anti-emetic drugs, but I still puked every round. Actually, once I had puked, I generally felt better.  The rest of the time I felt OK, you feel "off" for several days each round, but I was functional. I have 2 little kids and I was able to care for them, walk my daughter to school, cook dinner, do all of that stuff.  I had a sore mouth and a bad taste in my mouth too - get some hard candy, as that helped with the taste. I also did a baking soda mouth rinse about 4 times a day which I think helped prevent any sores.

The Taxatore was a whole different ball game!  I had no nausea at all, but I got terrible bone and joint pain. Not everyone gets this, but it was awful. I literally couldn't get out of bed for two days each round. No fun. My Onc gave me Tylenol 3's, and I started taking them the moment I felt pain - it helped me stay on top of it. I also had ice mitts during the infusion - ask the nurses for them. Since they started using them at my hospital they have cut the rate of neuropathy down to only 10% - I had none at all. My nails have all gone ridged, but I have had no loss of feeling at all.

The effects are also cumulative, so by the end of 6 rounds I was feeling pretty consumed by it. The steroids also do a number on you! I also had to be hospitalised for a couple of days, as my WBC was 0 and I got a fever.

But, the good news is that I am nearly 3 months out now and feeling great. My energy levels are way up, I am exercising every day and my hair is growing back (too slowly!)  It was probably the least fun I have ever had, but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, and got through it. And so will you.

Please let me know if I can give any more advice/help at all.

Kerry

I started FEC-T every 3 weeks on 1^st July 2009 and I have had 2 rounds of FEC so far. I will have another round of FEC then 3 of Taxotere.

I have had feelings of nausea with the FEC, although I have not actually puked so far. I have taken the anti nausea meds they give me for the first 3 days regardless of whether I feel I need them or not. I am also given some different meds for nausea that I can take as and when I feel the need, but so far I have not needed these. I have also had a slightly sore, rough mouth and I made a salt water mouth rinse several times a day and that helped me. It has not developed into mouth ulcers or sores yet. I have felt a bit yukky for a few days after each round, food and drinks have not tasted right, but it has actually not been as bad as I thought it might be. I would say my side effects have been fairly minimal so far.

I still have the Taxotere to come. I have been told by my chemo nurse that I should paint my fingernails and toenails with black polish to protect them when I start Taxotere.

Kerry it is good to hear that you are feeling great at nearly 3 months out. I intend to just keep going one day at a time and then eventually I will also be through this.

I completed my three rounds of FEC about two weeks ago. The third one was definitely harder than the first two. My main SE's were the nausea, (but I only threw up once) and I was really tired on about day 3 and 4. I also had very bad heartburn, but my onc prescribed a good med and that took care of it.  I was like Texas357 - I was laid out for about the 3 or 4 days after the treatment, but the next too weeks, I felt almost normal.

Now I moving on to Docetaxal - has anyone been on that?  I have to take steroids the day before because I guess they don't want you to have an alergic reaction to it. If anyone has been on it, maybe you could let me know what to expect. I've heard that it is easier on your stomach and hair than the FEC. I still have my eyebrows and lashes, and was hoping to keep them. 

Rinna 

When I had my first dx in Oct. 2004, the cancer was IDC,  TN and I was part of a clinical trial that randomized people into 1 of three protocols.....either CEF (FEC) or A/C + T or DD AC + T. The computer put me into the CEF group. I received the results of the clinical trial and it said that the CEF provided a better result ...... the tumour was 3 cm and I was node negative and I was well into menopause at the time. For my second dx, I was ILC, 2.2 cm, 4 nodes affected and ES+/PR+ and I was on TC. I found both to be difficult but different. When I went through the staging process and all the tissue was examined (had BM this time), they found no evidence of the TN anywhere so I'm thinking that the CEF did the job.

If it is any consolation to those going through it now, my head hair also started to grow back on the Taxatore!

I started the FEC-T in March 3rd and finished June 17th. 

As everyone else, I had nausea with the FEC.  I would get sick the night of but I was able to function the next day.  I didn't eat a lot till probably the 3rd day as my stomach wasn't up to it!  As for the Taxotere, I didn't have any bone pain or any side effects for that matter!  I was very lucky.  One good thing that did happen while doing the Taxotere was my hair started to grow back.  I was so happy.  While it is taking its sweet time in sprouting, I'm just glad that it's on its way back!  Hoping I can have bangs by Christmas!!

Thank you so much for all the useful info on this thread.  I will start FEC shortly (I live in London).

These two sites may be of use:

 www.cancernet.co.uk/chem-fec.htm

www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help   (this is the info site for Cancer Research UK - it is useful.  you can look up FEC or other treatments)

 I am going to do cold cap treatment; I think that it is the epirubicin that is particularly unhelpful for hair....  However, my senior nurse tell me that quite a lot of ladies have retained a lot of hair,providing they really do the old cap thing properly.

My GP tells me that you should not get thrush (when you get rather run down and prone to infections) as FEC doesn't cause  yeast-based infections.  We shall see!

Good luck all -

Dear Saffy, many thanks for the encouragement and information.  I use Palmers coconut oil in the bath anyway during Summer (as you know we have such lovely weather here in England everyone gets dehydrated......!)  so it  will be nice to use it more often.

Best wishes to all -

Thanks for all the info Saffy.  I saw and Onc yesterday who announced that I should be prepared to be ill for a week on first treatment.  I haven't heard or read that one before so I think I will try to ignore it.

I usually end up feeling really depressed any time I meet with yet another new doctor at hospital as they all go over the same negative info on whatever topic it is (chemo, or AIs or whatever).  Because I don't see the same doctor twice, it is like a dumping process of them always repeating the same info.

Anybody else had this?

hello Kerry - thanks for the words of encouragement!  You are so right, we none of us can tell in advance what our response may be.

I am repeatedly frustrated because I mentally prepare myself for each new event, my overall credo being "keep an open mind, see where things go, be prepared with all the practical stuff you need", amd so I move forward reasonably calmly and glad to be entering a new phase.  Positive thinking is good.  Then, I have a meeting with a doctor, and they manage on each and every occasion to dispel my cautious optimism.  I have got to a stage where I detest all doctors and that of course, isn't e very good place to be.  I am utterly convinced that despite all the bullshit literature one is given about being able to discuss things openly and having a right to information, the truth is here that they bloody well hate you having any kind of opinion at all.

The great thing in the UK is that no-one is turned away from (nowadays) prompt treatment, and all drugs are completely free to any cancer patient, we do not even pay the 7 pounds standard prescription charge.          However, I do think that you have got a freedom of choice in certain matters that I don't have.     Clinically, I am probably at one of the best hospitals in the UK, it is a nice building in a nice area and my nurse is wonderful.   But I really don't get on with the doctors.

Well, I thought my Onc was Prof smith.  I admit I had made a mistake for yesterday's appointment as I actually had ab appt. in "his clinic", but he's on holiday so I saw another doctor.

At my first meeting, another onc went through (sort of..) adjuvant online with me.  Told me the bad news and then buggered off.  Later Prof Smith came in.  A very able and perfectably ok person and in this journey, he has been the only person I have been able to discuss things with in a way whereby I am treated as an adult.

When I see another onc in 2 weeks time, it will be - you guessed it - another oncologist.

I made things rather obvious yesterday  that I thought this lacked any cohesion and didn't amount to anything in terms of patient confidence.  So, now I am in the naught corner again.

And this is the best London has to offer, or so the hospital says in its blurb!!!

I am thinking that it might just be possible to get moved on to another hospital for radiatherapy.  Basically, I don't really want to have an ongoing relationship with this place after I have finished all my treatments.  Or is that throwing out the baby with the bathwater.  How would I know if somewhere else was better.

 Anyway, thanks for your input and interest - I guess this is just one of those not too good weekends!

all best wishes to you -         xxxxxx

Thanks so much for the info - it is very helpful to make an informed comparison between hospitals/individual's experiences because otherwise one may think that what I am experiencing  is just standard stuff for the NHS.  To me, it feels like a conveyor belt.  I felt fanstastically down yesterday which was crazy as I now have a good job in the offing and on a day to day basis, life is good.  The weird thing is whenever I express this to any doctor that I see, they immediately start going over the same oft repeated round of chemo side effects will be awful, blah blah blah. Of course, one then becomes rather paranoid as to why they keep ion and on about this.  I have now discussed this with a few medical friends of mine, and they put it down to youth and inexperience, and the reeling out of a sort of tick box of "stuff to tell the patient".  certainly most of the doctors at the Royal Marsden are pretty young.  Obviously very bright (and they know it) but lacking empathy.

Anyway, I mustn't hijack this specialist FEC site for my moanings!

Cold cap - I am going to use the machine thingy that looks like a big hair dryer in a salon - it looks like something from a 60s sci-fi moview and looked quite fun so fingers crossed.  Lovely bright decor in the chemo suite (they see 40 people per day there.  phew).

I hope your additional journey won't be too much hassle.   I am very lucky in that I can wlak to the Marsden in about 20 minutes, which is a real gift in London.

Very best wishes to everyone as you move forward -

Virginia - just sending hugs your way. I wouldn't enjoy being seen by so many different Dr's either. I think it is important to find one Dr you can rely on. I am being treated at a smaller, regional hospital, and I do think it is more personal. But I had radiation at a larger Cancer Centre, and when we went there there were amazed at all the other facilities available, that my smaller hospital doesn't have. So, it is a trade off!

I used to live in London, many moons ago, and I think the Royal Marsden is one of the best Cancer Hospitals there, so at least you are in good (if sometimes unempathetic!) hands. I would wait and see with the chemo side effects. You may well be able to work through, especially at the beginning. It all depends on the type of work you do. I am home with little kids, and for the most part I was OK looking after them, but a lot of the time I don't think I was thinking very sharply, if you can understand that, so anything too demanding might be difficult for some of the time anyhow.

The cold cap sounds intriguing - is it to prevent hair loss?? 

Jayne - hope you are doing well! 

Virginia great news about the job, congratulations! The Royal Marsden does have a good reputation; I thought it was supposed to be the best cancer hospital in this country. I am certainly envious that you can walk there in 20 minutes. The one I go to doesn't offer the cold caps so I will be very interested to hear how that goes.

Working whilst on chemo has not been an issue for me so far because I teach at a college. I missed the last few weeks of term while I was recovering from my surgery, but a colleague was happy to cover my classes. Now it is the summer break and I would not be teaching anyway. The day after my first round of FEC I attended a team-building day with all my colleagues and I felt fine. My main problem was remembering to take all my anti nausea meds and steroids at the right times :)  With my second round I was warned that I might experience some side effects a bit sooner because my body might ‘remember' the drugs from the first time. This was true for me; I did feel worse on the day after treatment, not too bad though. Then I had a few days of feeling quite tired. I was glad not to be at work then. I teach key skills in Maths and English to teenage lads on plumbing and engineering courses and I just don't think I would have had the energy required to deal with them and to get myself and my folders etc round the college to all the different rooms I teach in. Today though I am feeling fine with good energy levels. So basically I seem to be a bit up and down at the moment.

Kerry I can't imagine what it would be like taking care of young kids while going through all this. I guess there is no such thing as time off from being a mom.

Saffy thanks for the info about drinking lots of water being good for the veins. Mine are holding up so far and I would like to keep it that way.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I am just going out for a walk even though it looks like rain yet again!

I've had 2 rounds of FEC.  I puked the first night of the first round but nothing on the second.  Puking is better than nausea, at least you feel better after---in the end it's not so bad.  My second round went really well and I almost didn't feel anything until the 4th day when I felt a bit light headed and foggy brained.  That's where I am at today but if it goes like the 1st round I will be feeling like my old self in a couple of days - I actually strapped on roller blades a week after my first round of chemo for the first time since surgery.   It felt great!!!  I find that even though my neutrophils where extremely low, during the one week, it didn't affect my energy level.  Here are the anti nausea drugs they gave me and I also added 12 hour Gravol which is my new best friend: Dexamethasone, Granisetron and Metoclopramide(this one I didn't take the second round because I found it made me jittery, the Gravol seemed to be better for me)  The Dex can keep you awake at night and the Gravol makes you drousy so the Dex has less of a SE.  

Hope this helps,

Linda from little old Canada