Does Taxol work for BRC1 ???

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smilonface
smilonface Member Posts: 8
edited June 2014 in Genetic Testing

My oncologist cancelled my last Taxol treatment today.  I had 4 dose-dense AC and 3 Taxol's so far.  They were concerned about permanent neuropathy.  I am also BRC1 + and Triple Neg.  She said that it was statistically insignificant to receive the last Taxol because it doesn't work will with BRCA!!  What???  I feel like my hole treatment has been a failure if I don't get this last one.  I will always worry if this last treatment would have made a difference with recurrence.  The Dr. said I can reconsider in the next few days and get the treatment as long as I realize that the neuropathy may become worse and permanent.  What to do????  Has anyone cancelled a treatment?  Did it make a difference in your recovery?  How about anyone with permanent neuropathy?  Was it worth getting the treatment?  Help me decide!  Thank you all!

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  • hydeskate
    hydeskate Member Posts: 297
    edited November 2010

    I Have TNBC and BRAC1+ Stage IV with METS liver/lungs.  I had an allergic to Taxol as soon as it hit my system, so I was put on Abraxane. I know on Abraxane they can increase and decrease the doseage they actually increased my doseage until I started to get tingling in my toes and fingers then they lowered the doseage.  I actually got one extra treatment by acccident. I am now NED and currently not taking Chemo.

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  • ktym
    ktym Member Posts: 2,637
    edited November 2010

    blumbern, 2 years out and hand and foot neuropathy that has effected my career, and foot neuropathy that is painful every day.  I ended up not getting the last dose due to other complications--not the neuropathy.  I too tortured myself with second thoughts about should I just keep going, what if it comes back I'll always wonder..... etc.  Let me tell you, after two years of dealing with a neuropathy that I have little hope of now of getting better, I am thankful to not have had that last dose.  My Onc tells me that kind of toxicity indicates people who metabolize it differently and that the toxicity indicates cancer cell kill more than counting doses.  Who knows if that is right?  We're all different, and you'll make the choice best for you, but, don't ever beat yourself up if you stop now.

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  • Sandals
    Sandals Member Posts: 104
    edited November 2010

    Hi Hydeskate,

    Just to say, that is very inspiring that you were TNBC BRCA, stage IV with Mets in 2007 and are NED today. You must feel very proud.  You give me hope Smile

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  • hydeskate
    hydeskate Member Posts: 297
    edited November 2010

    Thanks Sandals,

    Know I just pray that I stay NED, my ONC was very excited to give me the news since everything before then was bad.  I have to give credit to the great doctors at UNC Cancer Hospital.

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  • AnacortesGirl
    AnacortesGirl Member Posts: 1,758
    edited November 2010

    blumberm -

    I know my reply is late but I just don't get as much time on the boards now that I'm back at work.

    What did you decide?

    Let me first qualify myself by saying that I'm BRCA 2+ with ER/PR positive so I'm not as familiar with your cancer.  But I did go through 7 months of neoadjuvant chemo only to discover at surgery that my cancer had no response to chemo.  And instead of being 3 or 4 lymph nodes involved it was 14.  But even though I was unresponsive and had to cancel my last chemo because of the effects it was having on my body I would do it all over again.  We do the best we can with we know at the time.

    Missing 1 chemo is not statistically significant.  In other words, you've probably have gotten the best results that you can get.  The number of chemo treatments a women should get is not a hardfast number.  It's just based on the data that they have accumulated over the years of all the women and all the different types of BC which suggest that X amount of a chemo is what an onc should give a woman.  And there are different protocols to get to that amount.  For instance AC can be given weekly, every two weeks or every 3 weeks and the end result is still X amount. 

    As for Taxol not working well against BRCA 1+, I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that your onc feels the AC was more important.  But quality of life after chemo is very, very important.  Neuropathy can be very serious and keep you from fully living your life. 

    None of us have the guarantee that our treatment has annihilated the cancer and that we will never deal with it again.  We do the best we can.  We move on to live life to it's fullest because that is the reason for all this treatment hell.

    Keep strong!

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  • smilonface
    smilonface Member Posts: 8
    edited November 2010

    Thank you all for your thoughtful feedback.  After waiting an extra week and a half, the oncologist cancelled the treatment permanently.  The neuropathy is actually getting worse.  I am goinig to post another question about that.  The thoughts in my heads questionning whether or not to get the last chemo have now switched to worring about the possibility that the cancer has spread.  TBC in about 2 weeks.  Thanks again for your feedback.  It really did help!

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  • Latte
    Latte Member Posts: 1,072
    edited November 2010

    hi blumberm,

    just saw this a bit late - i am BRCA1+ and had a total clinical response from neo-adjuvant AC+Taxol (tumor and positive nodes disappeared completely before surgery), so i am proof that your onc isn't correct about Taxol not working for BRCA1+.  However, stopping tx because of bad neuropathy is another story altogether, and i'm sure your onc did the right thing there - neuropathy can be permanent, and it is fairly common practice to stop tx if it gets very bad.

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