Neoadjuvant chemotherapy - Triple Negative

GLUTAMINE! This can be purchased as a powder... Swirl ten g in water - drink up - three tmes per day for the first four days after each taxol. It has been shown - in clinical trial - to reduce the incidence of neuropathy and mouthsores and so on.... So, consider adding that to your routine for the taxol phase....



And good luck - I had a longer regimen, but having chemo before surgery is awesome because you have tme to make decisions... And know whether the chemo is working... I ended up with a complete pathological response... Which was awesome.



Good luck.

Lee

I would insist on an mri. It's your body and you have to be the one looking after it the most. Be persistent and don't give up.....

I've completed 4 cycles of dose dense neoadjuvant AC and 2 weeks of dose dense taxol and the tumor does not seem to have shrunk much. I'll have MRI after six weeks of taxol to check. I had been optimistic about shrinkage, or of course pathological complete response, since my tumor is grade 3 and ki 67 of 70 percent. But I've read that a subset can be resistant.



I know achieving a pcr is a minority of women, but I've read so many other posts of women with my stats who have done it. I've also heard from surgeon - and read posts - that say the remaining "tumor" can end up being just scar tissue/dead cells when they do path at surgery, or that tumors "blow up" before they die, but it seems like it should be shrinking rapidly on chemo. I am having trouble waiting for mri without some other sign of what is actually going on.



I would be interested in others' experiences: Is there any (non-path) signal when it is scar tissue and not invasive disease? Info about incidence of chemo resistance among those with my stats? When in the twelve-week taxol cycle wouldstud tumor shrink, IF it's going to shrink?

BTDT!!!!  I am triple negative (40 years old), diagnosed in March.  Just finished chemotheraphy Sept 6.  4 doses of AC, then 12 weekly Taxol treatments.  I had bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction on Sept 28, now dealing with different opinions on whether or not I need radiation...extremely frustrating. 

I have learned over the past several months that reactions to chemotherapy are different for everyone, and it will be different for you.  I can only share my story and hope that it will bring you comfort in some way or fashion. 

The AC treatments were horrible...there were days that went by and I didn't even know my name!  But...it was over and done in a few days.  With the weekly Taxol treatments it was much different.  I started off with minimal side effects, but as the weeks went by the fatigue crept up on me.  I managed to work through the first 4 months of chemo, only taking a day off now and then.  The taxol finally got hold of me and I was unable to do anything the last 4-5 weeks of treatment.  I tell others, I feel like my soul had been sucked out and left me with nothing but a shell, my physical being.  I would get my kids off to school, sleep all day, and then get up just long enough to help my husband get dinner cooked, kids fed, homework done...then I was back to bed.  I never had any neuropathy, but did experience extreme joint pain and intermittent muscle pain. I also struggled, mentally, from losing every hair on my body, gaining 20 pounds, to the point where I didn't recognize myself in the mirror.  My oncologist was terrific in providing medication to help me tolerate the side effects.  Took me about 3 weeks to start feeling better after the last Taxol treatment...just in time to head into surgery.  The surgical procedure itself was a lot to digest.  I woke up surprised at how disfigured I looked.  But about the time the drains were removed (10 days) and my plastic surgeon began filling the expanders, my hair started to grow, eyebrows started to reappear and I began feeling like the old me.  My confidence and energy levels have returned. 

I did have an ultrasound after the four rounds of AC and the tumor did show regression, with an MRI at the end of treatment.  However at the time of surgery it was determined that the tumor had only shrunk by a little over a half and I did not have a complete pathological response.  The great news is, by the tumor shrinking, I was able to undergo a skin and nipple sparing mastectomy.  My girls look better than ever and I am only halfway through the expansion.

The entire process is very scary, and I dealt with many emotions while I lied in bed day after day.  You will be through it soon, even though it feels like it may never end.  Mentally, I am stronger today than ever.  Physically, I am about 80% but getting stronger every day.  Hang in there...you can do this.