quitting chemo after 4 treatments?

I know chemo must be really tough,emotionally and physically,but continue to work with your physicians and find some good emotional support from friends, church,family, and especially with a breast cancer group,Gilda's Club, whatever is available to you where you live. Also,check with the women on this Web site who are undergoing chemo for support. You are so close to being finished. Also,since you are HER2+, insist on learning about Herceptin treatment, which,I think usually follows chemo, or sometimes is given at the same time. You are a triple positive, and follow-up treament with herceptin and tamoxifen gives you a lot of hope for recovering completely. I know your family wants you around for a long time,and you have every reason to hope you will be! All this treatment will help. Keep us here on breastcancer.org posted!

You're in my thoughts and prayers,

Liz in KS

liljohnnysmommy,

I had some of the same fears and problems as you have had. After #4 I too did not want to go on and the same after #5. I had to talk myself into doing 5 and 6 and was really ill with gall bladder problems and low wbc. The truth is that by around May 11 (if my math is correct) you will be done.  That is soooooo close. I know you are going through misery right now, but after that last chemo you will be so cheerful.  I am now 9 months PFC and I am so GLAD I finished the course of treatment and am not second guessing my decision. I continued with Herceptin up to recent times, but that was easy to handle. Are you also receiving Herceptin?

Sorry to mention this, but I see that your sign line says "mets." Have you asked your doctor about your staging? 

 Please continue with your treatment. May 11 is just a month away.

Linda

Dear Johnny's mommy, I did 8 rounds of TAC at the age of 52, and I know just how hard it is.  But somehow I got through it, and I know you will too!!!  I had a lot of difficulties as well, and most of the time, I thought I'd be better off dead. Only you can make this decision, but you can do it.  Good luck to you.

Hang in there.  It's definitely difficult but it is absolutely doable. Talk to your docs.  Sometimes they can add in a an extra week to let you "recover" a little bit more.  They also might suggest some other things that can help boost you slightly.  Neulasta may work better for you than Neupogen to release the WBC from your bones.  Neulasta is more expensive but is designed to work actively within a day while neupogen is a more gradual using the multiple shots.  both shots are just tricking the body to release its own WBC cells a little early from your own bones.

you definitely should be considering Herceptin following the TAC if you are HER2+.  Herceptin is almost a walk in the park compared to the TAC. 

I'm in a small town so I really can appreciate the lack of formal support services.  It's hard to ask for help but I'm sure you're town has a church, that neighbors would probably be willing to help.  A suggestion would be to ask them make casseroles or dinners for you for 1 or 2 days a week or every chemo week.  Even if you are capable of cooking, saving your energy to do some of the other things that need to be done can be very smart and help you get through this. Maybe they could get your groceries for you or help with doing your laundry. Anything that makes you feel better. Don't sweat the housework type thing.  100 hundred years from now, NO ONE will care if you're house was clean on April 12th.  They will care how you lived your life or lived with your family. So save your energy for the big things. Let people help.  Everyone has neighbors and they reallly do want to help but usually don't know how.

If you can, maybe get "Breast Cancer Husband" from the library?  it can help some of the men understand more of what is going on for you.  Some men can't handle the idea of the BC and use  denial  as their way of coping.

I hope things go better for you. We're all here for each other.  Good luck

I came off of chemo after 4 doses instead of 6. I had been hospitalised twice and was having to use the Neulasta jabs - which were very painful. They couldn't control my nausea and I was vomiting blood all the time and lost a huge amount of weight - I had eaten nothing for 3 months and was bedridden. The final straw was when I went in to anaphylactic shock during a dose and stopped breathing.

I get more benefit from hormone therapy than chemo and so I decided to stop. If those 4 doses didn't do some damage to any rogue cells then I doubt if anything would.

I only did 4 of 6, but it was FEC...I had no nodal involvement.  I felt like a dog, actually, I really thought it was going to kill me, so I talked to my oncologist, and she said that that I had had enough benefit from the 4, and she okay'd me to stop.  We're all different....The reason I even thought to quit early, was that they had offered me a spot on a trial testing 4 vs 6.  So I thought if they're considering 4 vs. 6, then there must be some evidence that 4 was okay. That was 3 years ago...and FEC... They always go in heavy with these protocols and then dial back...It might not have been smart to quit early, but I did it, and I have no regrets whatsoever.  But again, it's different for everyone, and it should be something you discuss with your oncologist.  I feel for you!

ahhhh. been here. sore kidneys, horrendous mouth sores (regular warm salt water mouthwashes were the only joy). tiredness, well, when its finally over think of how energetic you will feel. no wonder formerly lazy people take up marathon running etc. after it you feel untouchable.  fec was brutal, i wanted to drop last round too but her2 specialist onco said one of the vile chems was considered, tho still requiring further 'proof', more imp than herceptin. bugger really. there are no happy memories of fec. here's a funny fec story though - you can laugh at my stupidity.  i started up a course of 10 infrared detox wraps (finished radio etc end of jan) had 2 two days apart and sashayed off to some 10 day meditation thing ... 36 hours later was carted off to hopsital while everyone around me sat in 'noble silence'  and looked pained at my ruining their fun. came on very suddenly, thought my head was going to split, organs were on fire (initially thot was back from all that sitting) and was desperately trying not to puke, which i hate and avoid until no other option. i couldnt stand light etc it was terrible - they scanned brain (surprisingly i have one) and were trying to con me into lumbar punctures etc but i kept waving them off with increasingly colourful language - noone in this place is going anywhere near my spine! assumed blood clots or something. then 24 hours after the whole thing hit when i'd had iv fluids, painkillers, sleep, puked and my brain started to function again i knew exactly what it was - there was enough crap left in me to set me off on another round of fec without pre-meds.  its funny now but  a fright. i was telling off the guy in the ambulance because the 1 hour of juddering on bad nz roads nearly finished me off - was trying to get him to go back to get my car and drive me in that while amb followed behind. there really is no point owning a good car and then when you need it most you go in some tractor of a vehicle, is there??? anyhow, let it be said now i understand why they say 'no pre-meds no round'.  after a hard week following that 7th round i am beginning to feel heaps better. you do feel better eventually and forget about the days where you wanted to set your mouth on fire to dull the pain. non chem detox a good idea if you can set yourself to it at the end, just slower and dont get dehydrated whatever you do. when you clear it with them make sure your oncology support doesnt wave you on with giggles 'you be the guinea pig'.  better days ahead.

Wow, this is the exact question I came looking for.  I have done 4 cycles of CMF and have 2 more to go, but due to fatigue and my hair thinning so much, I want to stop now!  I do not want to do the next 2 treatments at all.  Just the thgouht of them turn my stomach!

I have had no problems other then fatigue, but I am such a hyper, energetic person, that this is enough!!  Plus I am ready for my hair to get back to normal, not so thin that I can see my scalp at every angle.

I dont know what to do.  With all 6 cycles I have a 12% reoccurence rate.

I went in Friday to start my 5th cycle.  Dr asked me how I was doing..and I broke down in tears.  I told him that I am just tired of doing chemo and want to quit.  I asked if I were to quit, what are the risks (% wise)....and he said "Janina, I work for you and want what makes you happy".  He said "Chemo is most effective the first 2 treatments (cycles), you have done 4 cycles, so you have already benefited from the chemo".  He looked at the graph, my diagnosis, and then went online and pulled some numbers....and looked at me and said "your reoccurence rate doesn't change at all if you want to quit now...it will be the same as it would be is you complete all six cycles".  WHOO-HOO!!  I cried tears of happiness!  I feel I regained my life back in that very minute.  I go for my radiation appointment tomorrow to get that all planned out.

Funny, I feel like a whole new person already.  Dr did say that my hair should start filling in in about 2 weeks....so counting down.  I probably thinned about 40-50% hair...and had thin hair to start with.

I have NO REGRETS of quitting after 4th cycle...and not completing last two!

Hi....I noticed this was posted a while back. But I was Diagnosed HER2 positive stage llb. Did my 4 treatments of AC and will be starting TPH next week. I too feel like I want to stop. I cry when I think about it. I know everyone reacts differently to the medication and my body had minimum side effects (so blessed) but Im scared of the other side effects I have read about. I was told by a friend whom also was diagnosed and all she told me her bad experiences. Made me more scared. I dont want to feel hopeless and not be able to take care of myself. My tumor is gone and I havent had surgery nor radiation. Is it possible not to do the next treatments? Sorry I'm new to all this.

Hi Sweetie-

Welcome to BCO! We have a more active chemo thread where your question will get more feedback from the community: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topics.... We know how scary it can be, but it might help to connect with other members who are in the thick of it too, to help alleviate some of your fears.

The Mods