Neoadjuvant therapy

maryland · April 2014

I was dx on Feb, 14, 2014 with ILC. The tumor is approximately 2.5 cm, and in addition to the breast I had a lymph node biopsy which was also positive with extranodal extension, there was also a second lymph node that showed up on the U/S as thickened and highly suspicious. Both my surgeon and MO and the tumor board all thought my best plan of tx was chemo to shrink it, then surgery, lumpectomy or mastectomy not sure yet, followed by radiation. I've had 2 rounds of chemo and went to my MO today and she estimated the tumor had shrunk to about 1 cm so I guess it's working. Anybody else out that had or is having a similar course of tx?

Lettinggo · April 2014

Hi there, yes i was diagnosed in January and am going thru neoadjuvant chemo. How is everything going for you? My tumor is about 2.4cm and the ultrasound shows shrinkage to 1.7cm. I had AC and now on taxol and carbo. what are you having? any symptoms of the side effects. my blood count both white and red has been an issue as they stay quite low. hope all is going well for you. Hugs, Leanne

babyduck · April 2014

I am doing neoadjuvent also...12 weekly Taxol then 4 AC. US shows shrinkage however the breast looks awful. Red, Swollen, hard... MO thinks is mainly reaction to Taxol and tissue damage from the biopsy.... Any reactions like this for anyone?

Sunshine36 · April 2014

Hey there - im also neo-adjuvant. My tumor is 2.2cm and 3 lymph biopsies tested positive sp I am having 6 rounds of chemo (1 down, 5 to go!) Before my double mascetomy.

Best of luck to you (and all)

Xoxo

Jen

encyclias · April 2014

I did neoadjuvant also in the fall of 2012. Started with two lumps total of 5cm (50mm) and a bunch of involved nodes. After my A/C x 4, a lumpectomy found one lump totally gone, the other only 3mm left, margins wide and clear, and also no cancer in the lymph nodes anymore. Went on to rads.

Good luck to all for wonderful success with your treatments.

Carol

maryland · April 2014

Nice to hear rom you all, I've been hard pressed to find people with tx similar to mine.

Leanne, I am doing pretty good, 3rd chemo tomorrow, so far worst SE was bad folliculitis on my scalp, put me on an anti-biotic and it took about 5 days to clear up. Still have a few eyelashes and some eyebrows and peach fuzz on my head. Blood counts ok so far. All and all not too bad so far. I'm getting Cytoxan and Taxotere. I have not had another ultrasound but she manually palpated yesterday and thought it was about a centimeter. What's your plan after chemo? Lumpectomy or mastectomy? Radiation? How many more tx's? Are you getting the Neulasta for your WBC's?

babyduck, so sorry to hear about the reaction to your breast, does not sound pleasant, how much longer for the Taxol, do they think you'll be able to finish?

Jen, your dx sounds very similar to mine, except for I have ILC. Did your MO say mastectomy was the only way to go or were you presented with a choice? Mine said lumpectomy initially, never even mentioned mastectomy then yesterday asked which way I thought I wanted to go and said we'd wait till done with chemo then discuss with surgeon. Now I'm more confused than ever. Guess I just have to be patient and wait and see but it's hard.

Carol, wow I hope I have results like yours, thanks so much for replying. It seems most have surgery 1st and get a very definitive dx with a very firm plan, I'm so glad to get some input from others having the neoadjuvant and especially from someone with such a good outcome…

thanks all and good luck..keep in touch

GeorgiaRai · April 2014

I had neoadjuvant for my ILC in early 2012, followed by BMX and rads. Lumpectomy wasn't an option because of the size of my tumor. It all went very well, though - except that I think I have the slowest growing hair in the history of earth!!! Still barely pixie length almost 2 years later!

Hang in there, genny! Hope tomorrow's treatment goes by quickly with minimal side effects. ((hugs))

maryland · April 2014

Thanks GeorgiaRai, chemo went fine, it always does, I don't seem to have any SE's till after day 6 and then not so bad. I've been able to keep working and walking my dogs so I feel pretty fortunate. I'm a hairdresser and pixie's are all the rage now! Had my hair cut in one before starting chemo. Take Care..Genny

srdc2013 · April 2014

I was also diagnosed on Valentines Day with 2.4 cm IDC. Some gift huh? I am doing neoadjuvant therapy too and seem to be in the minority of everyone else I meet. Just emerging from the third round of TCHP and will see my MO today and hopefully get ultrasound to see how much it's shrunk. I think I will also have the choice of lumpectomy or mastectomy. I lean heavily towards the latter right now. I do NOT want to go thru this again.

BikerLee · April 2014

good morning! i had neoadjuvant chemo as well - complete pathological response, which meant no detectable cancer after it was all said and done.... yippee!!!! with my tumor's triple negative status, that complete pathological response is a huge predictor of disease-free survival.... again - another yippee!

i noticed you said you've got what i "lovingly" referred to as pizza head.... and i've written a piece on this. my health care team did not give antibiotics for my horrid pizza scalp.... and i sort of took things into my own hands.... here's a lightly modified version of what i wrote on my blog about this very issue:

Alopecia scalp care – OK – an ugly side of chemo hair loss can be horrible horrible ugly pizza head. And by ugly, I mean ginormous ugly looking white heads on your scalp! The things look painful and are painful. Not everyone gets them, but I sure as heck did! And there’s no way a person could tell me – oh – they aren’t really all that noticeable! The docs all told me to just leave my head open to the air. I just couldn’t do that because I found the acne to be so … well… embarrassing! They also said no hot showers! I love hot showers! They also said don’t rub your head when you dry it – just pat it dry!!!! NONE of these things helped even one tiny bit. So, I did some research… and combined things I found in order to come up with my own recipe for success.

Lee’s two-step recipe for a smooth and acne-free chemo scalp.

ONE: When you shower, use hibiclens (available at pharmacies - same stuff i used before my port installation surgery) on your head. Do not let hibiclens get into your eyes or ears. Use a dime amount in the palm of your wet hand… Before your head gets wet, rub that all over your head for around 15-30 seconds…. RINSE SUPER WELL! Your shower can be as hot or not hot as you prefer.

TWO: After you shower and your scalp is dry, use a salicylic acid solution on your head. About a dime to nickel size amount in your palm – rub over your whole head… I believe that you are free to rub or pat your head dry. I like to rub because it just feels good. Then, Once totally try, wear whatever you like on your head.

Viola! Within about one week, my horrid scalp acne had completely resolved, and I was once again willing to let the world see my bald head.

Lee Penn's totally acne-free and smooth bald head.

(http://rleepenn.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/tips-for-surviving-chemotherapy/)

maryland · May 2014

Thanks BikerLee, I will try that, if history repeats itself, in about 3 days. The last time I washed with Catephil and then scrubbed with an alcohol soaked cotton ball. along with the antibiotics. It took about a week to clear, so I'll start right away with the hibiclens. Such great news about the complete pathological response! I see you still had a BMX, was that your choice or your surgeons recommendation?

annika12 · May 2014

I also had neoadjuvant chemo after my may-13 diagnosis and my pathology report after surgery showed a complete response !! My secondary tumors in my nodes were bigger then the primary in my breast and shrunk by 60% after first treatment and were non existing at surgery ! It gave me comfort going through the chemo knowing it worked !! Life has returned to a new normal and my hair is growing

Neoadjuvant therapy

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