Chemo not working?

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Melljoy
Melljoy Member Posts: 2
edited August 2014 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Hi, I'm new to this forum and newly diagnosed a little less than a month ago with stage 3 triple negative IBC.  Almost exactly a year ago at the time of this diagnosis, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer stage IV.  Needless to say, as if the OVCA wasn't bad enough the IBC was a double whammy.  Apparently, it snuck in under the radar while still on chemo for the OVCA so the common treatment for IBC (taxol and carbo which I was being treated for the OVCA with) had to be changed to now adriamycin and  cytoxan.  So the plan for treatment is 4 rounds of chemo, surgery then 6 wks radiation.  

Within the month, my breast has gone from a rash on the bottom half to now my whole breast being pretty much all rock hard.  I'm afraid the chemo drug isn't working.  I've only had 1 treatment but I would expect it to at least stabilize and quit growing?  I would really like to hear this is normal and just bear with the program but it concerns me.  It just all really seems surreal to me...as if I hadn't gone through enough and now this whammy.  

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited August 2014

    Welcome Melljoy to the BCO community.

    You have joined a terrific group of supportive and
    knowledgeable people who can offer wisdom, information and their own
    experiences.

    While you are waiting for some responses please
    know that we are sending along warm thoughts and hugs. You may wish to search
    our main site for more information on IBC in Breastcancer.org's IBC section and the Forum Topics in  IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer).

    Most here will acknowledge how hard the worry is
    when you are waiting for results. We hope that your membership here will help
    with that while you go through the procedures..

    The Mods

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  • lintrollerderby
    lintrollerderby Member Posts: 483
    edited August 2014

    Hi and welcome. I'm so sorry you're going through this. Since you have a history of both ovarian cancer and Triple Negative breast cancer, have you had genetic testing? I ask because those of us with BRCA mutations sometimes respond differently to certain medicines. I see you've had carboplatin (quite a bit of research seems to indicate cancers in BRCA mutation carriers are especially sensitive to the platinum chemos such as carboplatin and cisplatin). Since you were on carbo when the TN showed up, perhaps a different platinum drug would work better? Also, if you are a BRCA mutation carrier, you may find extra benefit from a PARP Inhibitor. There are a few clinical trials around using those, and the research thus far tends to indicate that they are more helpful in BRCA+ patients. 

    I'm very sorry that you have all of this going on and I wish you the best of luck. I always hope someone is not a BRCA mutation carrier, but there are times when it can expose a weakness in the cancer that can be targeted. 

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  • Melljoy
    Melljoy Member Posts: 2
    edited August 2014

    I had the genetic testing the same day as I had the biopsy and STILL awaiting the results from it.  I really do hope it will help in my treatment.  Thanks!

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