Interesting Results from San Antonio Conference/TCH vs ACTH

now we find out...... sigh. At least this will help in the future.  thanks for the info mmm

Thanks for posting this! I knew the statistical difference was very small, but I'm glad to see evidence.

Sue

The slide set that was presented can be found on the BCIRG home page:

http://www.bcirg.org/Internet/default.htm 

suemed - while earlier results also indicaated that TCH might be just as effective as AC-TH, they were based on less than 5 years of follow-up (4 years when the 2nd interim results were presented) so there was concern that the gap between the two treatments might widen with more years of follow-up. For example, the FinHER study tested using Herceptin for just 9 weeks vs 1 year and at first the results looked good but at longer follow-up times the recurrences increased in the 9 weeks group.

As the MedPage article indicates, I don't think this release of results will convince all the oncs. The issue that this is one study while AC-TH has results that have been replicated in multiple studies remains. I'm confident about the BCIRG 006 results because it was a large clinical trial and appears to have been well conducted.  I'm happy to have had TCH rather than AC-TH but a single study is considered weaker proof than having multiple studies that produce comparable results. 

Gals!!!! This is JUST the thread for me today. This whole concept of informing ourselves because WE are the most interested party - you would think that ANYONE with half a brain or a smidge of empathy would understand why we struggle to understand this information - well - today - I had yet another little tussle with my onc - BOY does she HATE it when I raise stuff from my 'readings' - you can just see the contempt behind her eyes when I humbly suggest that I want to try something which may suit me better than the PLAN she has for me...in my case I really really want her to think outside the box in relation to hormonally responsive - but heavily treated ME - instead of steadfastly refusing to look into the research and results on reversing resistance to Femara or indeed reversing resistance to any of the treatments to which one's body adjusts over time and then ignores - I want her to TRY some of these strategies - I am a willing non-nude non-mouse in vivo desperate not to slam the door on my hormone receptors - but oh no....today was just a capper - she managed to introduce more doubt and more fear rather than coming up with a plan to try while I am still not desperately ill...it seems I have become involved in a p*ssing contest with her - who is the cleverest - well clearly SHE is...but who is the more vigilant and engaged - well.... I know the only real answer is to try another onc - but they are thin on the ground where I live and since I still work it is hard carving out the time from my busy life of servitude to address survival - but I fear the time is upon me....What makes me really grateful is that there are others out there who are trying so hard to beat this using their minds and everything else and who are not afraid to try and inform themselves rather than blindly just taking whatever we are told to take...it makes me sad and very scared that this desire to participate in our own survival so often works against us - yes....I have been referred to a shrink now to help with my 'anxiety'....if only shrinks could cure cancers and egos - I would gladly go

Sorry for the rant...very bad day - despite the hopeful glimmers from San Antonio which I was kinda hoping she had also read!!!!

Fidelia

I know what you mean about bucking the onc's opinion.  My old Onc gave me Herceptin with my first A/C chemo and I later read on Genentch's drug fact sheet that they are never to be given together. I also found the same info from Sloan Kettering.

I called his office told the nurse what I found out and she said "where did you hear that? We do this all the time!". I said "Sloan Kettering" and she got quiet and said she'd talk to to the Onc. 

Later they called me back and said they'd wait until after I finished the chemo, to give me the Herceptin.  I told them that's all I wanted.  Onc was a little snippy with me next time I saw him, but I let it go and things were ok after that. 

They did decide to also wait until I'd finished my rads to start my Herceptin too, because I was having targeted rads right over my aorta.

I never had Taxotere though, and my new onc (my other one retired) questioned why I didn't have it. I said I wondered the same thing, although at the time I didn't think about it because I was so sick.  She said, too late now, as I've been out of treatment for over a year and a half.

So, I guess I will find out whether the lack of a Taxane makes any difference in disease free survival. 

mmm5: Boy are you lucky you stood up to him. We don't have the oncotype dx test in Australia and it would cost about $6000 to send a sample over. Don't worry I asked him about it.

brenda_r: My oncologist didn't give me herceptin with the first TC treatment so he could see which drug, if any, caused a reaction. I thought that was really good. One of the girls on these boards had a nasty pussy rash after her first TCH and they didn't know what caused it.

Brenda_r: I knew that about andriamycin - you had a lucky escape. I can't beleive that your guy would  even think of giving both at once. I was just pointing out how careful my oncologist is when giving treatments.