AC+T Neoadjuvant treatment for Triple Negative

Hi Patty101014, I just finished 4 dose dense AC/T on November 25, 2014. While I had great results on AC, the tumor regrew on Taxol. They moved my surgery up by a week because there was nothing to wait for so I had a mastectomy three weeks after the last Taxol. The tumor had shrunk about 60% after AC. When it regrew it attached to the skin and muscles so they had to postpone the reconstruction until I heal. I told the oncologist at the start of the second treatment that the tumor was growing, but her plan was to forge ahead. I doubt she believed me on the growth.

There is a lifetime amount of each chemo that we can have. I cannot have Taxol again, it did not work. And the Adriamycin damaged my heart muscle, so my Cardiologists said never again. I also have shortness of breathe and neuropathy from the Taxol. But my hair started to regrow on Taxol. Only certain things will work well for triple negative. They are retesting my receptors from surgery because although 2 are still negative, they think I had another tumor grow as positive. Geez waiting for more results. So now I wait again to see what the Tumor Board suggests. My Oncologist wants to start another chemo 1/20. LOL I am in the show me mode right now, since the tumor regrew, and since surgery I cannot see the tumor since it has been removed. Not too sure about more chemo and radiation.

While my case is very aggressive triple negative, it has been challenging. It is rare for Taxol to fail to shrink the tumor I've been told and in 6 weeks! My Breast Surgeon said she has seen a few, so not too encouraging. But you can't decide on a few cases, and everyone is different.

Perhaps you can talk with the Docs again, and they may be able to calm your fears. I am only one case, and you can't make any decisions on one case. Good Luck, I hope it goes well!

Hi Patty,

I am not TN however, I did do the neoadjuvant AC+T chemo regimen. Like you I did well on AC, my tumor shrank considerably too. My onc explained to me that the Taxol attacks the tumor/cancer in a different way than the AC did. There is also an element of the chemo attacking any rogue cancer cells as well (i.e. that may have moved beyond the breast). I had a PET/CT prior to treatment to confirm that cancer had not spread but there is a chance that those rogue cells could escape...the chemo is a "whole body" treatment to give you the best outcome of eliminating those cells from taking that trip. For me the benefit outweighed the risk...if you did well on AC there is a chance you will have the same result with Taxol. For me there was bone and joint pain but not severe, I did have to take ibuprofen on occasion but it was manageable. I did 4 dose dense treatments of Taxol (some people do 12 smaller doses which makes it more tolerable, if you think that is the route you may want to go discuss with your onc) and I just counted them down to make them more bearable ~ they were done on the same schedule as the AC; one week on, one week off. The week of chemo was the toughest and the following week was much better so you can prepare yourself to manage the side effects.

I was told that after chemo the chances of a tumor being completely gone was rare; that tumor growth was also rare. The result that happens most were small "rain drops" of cancer left behind. In my case that is exactly what happened, after I had my mastectomy and node dissection the pathology showed no measurable cancer in the lymph nodes (we knew there were 2 that had been affected from the MRI/biopsy), the nodes were still intact with no lymphatic or vascular invasion. There were some of those small "rain drops" of cancer remaining in the breast tissue but that had been removed by the mastectomy. About 6 weeks or so after surgery I followed with 30 days of targeted radiation to the breast and underarm area. Radiation was a piece of cake compared to chemo.

As you know every journey is different and what works for one of us may not work for the other but it sure does help to know similar stories to get you through. In my case I wanted to attack the cancer with every thing I could so I researched my treatment options, discussed them with my Docs and also added nutrition and supplements to my treatment plan. Once I finished radiation I joined a research study at a local university that measured the effect of exercise on cognitive recovery of BC patients; after that I joined the LiveStrong program at my local YMCA in an effort to make exercise a part of my regular routine. I hope this thread provides some help to you in making your decision, do what is best for you, what you feel will give you the best outcome. You are your own best advocate, the Docs are there to help you make those decisions, if you feel like you need a second opinion do that too. Stay strong.

Hi Girls, I too had chemo prior to surgery , I did 4. FEC and 3 doxataxol my ultra sound showed great response. When we got the results from surgery we were shocked that the breast Tomour was gone but I still had. 9 yes. 9 positive nodes. I feel so scared. If anyone has a similar story could they please give me hope.

Krista