Chemo or No Chemon (recurrence

When I finished my 1st chemo in 2006 (TAC), I swore I would never do chemo again.  My tumor was larger than yours, but I had clear margins with my lumpectomy and my sentinel node was negative.  1 and 1/2 years after my last chemo, my mets was discovered (7/08).  I did start back on chemo, and it has not been too bad.  I just finished 10 months of Taxol/Avastin and the worst thing about it was the fatigue and that only lasted a few days.  I had no nausea at all.  I just started on Gemzar (only one dose), and it wasn't bad at all.  I was very fatigued for one day but I think it is because I over did it the day before from the steroids.  My Gemzar is being given weekly and I have heard that it is better tolerated that way.  I had a hard time too with my first chemo, but the ones I have had lately have not been too bad.  I feel I have a good QOL, just some inconvenience having to go to the cancer center every week.  It is hard to tell with TNBC, they say chemo is all we have.  Even though I have good QOL, so far chemo has not done a lot for me, but my own personal choice is to do everything I possibly can to fight this battle.  Good luck to you in whatever you choose.

hi Raine

Was your second time an IDC not atpyical medullary? What kind of chemo did you get?

I am in a similar boat but with a different cancer.  I have IBC, my large primary tumor was totally gone with neoadjuvant chemo but I still had residual cancer in the skin and lymph channels.  My oncologist printed an article from ASCO from May of this year that says that there is no benefit for chemo for those of us with residual cancer.  Because I am 39 (and it sounds like you are young too) my Dr is willing to do something.  My Dr is recommending Xeloda (pill form) with radiation and for 4 months afterward BUT I have seen many on this site treated with gemzar/carboplat or avastin/taxotere and I am taking those drugs to her at my appt next week and asking why those aren't an option for me.  I am of the opinion that I want to be hit NOW, not when it recurs in the next year or two......Good luck to you

Do as much as you can to fight your cancer....I'm just finishing up with Dose Dense AC and Dose Dense Taxol and I have not been sick at all..no nausea, nothing.  Things have changed so much in the past few years and they will even change for the better in the next few!  Go for it!

Reni

Then it is possible that your first time was also TN because they did not give you tamoxifen. 10 yrs ago, they already used tamoxifen for ER+.  You wrote that your first time was not TN, thus I assumed it might have been ER+, then they would have given you Taxmoxifen. Did they test your first time ER receptors then and what was your treatment the first time? thanks for your reply.

Rainenz, You have an interesting biology--that you had medullary and a recurrence so much later.  VERY unusual.  Did they tell you that you were medullary featured or true medullary?  It is rare for true meds to recur at all--and rare for triple negative to recur after so many years of being disease free.