TC vs ACT Chemo for Triple Negative?

Hi, I'm new to this forum -had lots of questions regarding Chemo TC x4 every 3 weeks or AC-x4 and T X12 - My 44 year old sister was diag. with TNBC IDC stage 1 (1.9 cm tumor) Grade 2 - Negative nodes- Onco recom. 4 cycles of TC only after surgery. I have done lots of reading and found TNBC to be very aggressive and most forums that i have read recommend to do AC-T or T & cythoplatin) with AC- I'm very scared that my sister is not getting the correct chemo for this type of cancer- I have tried to contact her Oncologist but she says this is the correct chemo given at her stage. Its too late to get a second opinion and I just wanted to hear from someone who had been treated with TC and is doing good. If any one has had a NED ( no evidence of disease) please give me some encouragement. I would appreciate it.

Thank you

Ladies, I hope you don't mind me butting in, not being TN but.....when I made the chemo decision, I asked my onc about the differences between AC-T and TC because I had heard that AC-T had better efficacy than TC and I wanted to kick cancer's butt. My oncologist is part of the US Oncology Network and there is a trial that is almost completed pitting AC-T against TCX 6 (not 4). She said the early results were that TC6 had the same efficacy as AC-T without the side effects associated (possible heart damage and risk for leukemia). That doesn't mean there are no possible risks/se with TC, just that they are considered less by most oncologists. You may want to ask your oncologist about having 6 cycles of TC instead of 4. Here is the link to the clinical trial information https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00493870

Good luck!

MsP

I'm almost triple negative. ER-, PR+34%, HER2-

I started my period late, at 14, pregnant at 26, 4 pregnancies, 4 years breastfeeding. I thought all those were protective against BC. Reading now, it seems those are only protective against ER+ BC, and some sources question whether ER- PR+ (which I supposedly have, one report said 35-40% PR+, the other report said 34% PR+) even exists. So I chose the more aggressive dose dense chemo, knowing hormonal treatment will be little or no help for me.

I was stage IIA and had the same treatment and response as Redporchlady. I did ACT + DD Carbo and had a complete pathological response.

My MO originally suggested TC, but I kept seeing others on ACT. I have a friend who is a nurse at Memorial Sloan Breast Center who was kind enough to ask several MO's in her department and every single one of them recommended ACT. A few of them also suggested adding DD Carboplatin along with the Taxol since I was BRCA+.

Wishing those making these tough treatment decisions all the very best.

Hi guys

I had dose dense ACX4 & TX3, no node involvement and also received a Pcr!

I only received 3 out of the 4 Taxol's because I developed terrible neuropathy but it's almost all gone now.

Praying and sending lots of hugs as you all make your decisions.

G

Has anybody had TCX4 recently for TNBC stage 1 grade 2 and has been NED.

Hi,

I'm 3/12 years out and had 4 rounds of TC. I was diagnosed back in January of 2012 with TNBC. Stage 1b (6mm), Grade 3, node negative.

Knock on wood, NED.

Analove, like you, I was questioning if I needed to go with a "stronger" chemo regimen. My Oncologist and I walked through all the alternatives on a site called Adjuvant Online. His initial recommendation and the one I ended up sticking with was TC*4. But we looked at things like CMF, TC*6 etc. I wrote the numbers down from just the TC*4 piece. He put in specific things about my medical history and my cancer type. Here's what came out:

10 years w/out chemo:

90% alive, 8% die of BC, 2% die of something else

10 years w/ 4 rounds of TC:

92.2% alive, 5.8% die of BC, 2% die of something else

The big thing was that the chemo reduced the risk of reoccurance. The risk of relapse was reduced by 7.4% with Chemo. I think it went from 76.1% no relapse without Chemo to 83.5% no relaspe with Chemo. Here's my notes about TC*6 vs TC*4: Any benefits to 6 vs 4? Answer 2%. (I apologize because I don't know if that is 2% onto the 92.2% alive or 2% onto the no relapse. All I remember is that it seemed reasonable to go with what he was recommending for me.)

Please take my notes as an example only and have your sister review with her Oncologist for her specific case. And this was done in 2012, so many things could have changed since then.

@ Jarris77 and chi-girl: So glad to hear. I am scheduled for round #4 this Friday, but they would like for me to take six. I'm glad you have NED.

Hi lovelifeBR, I ended up doing TC*4 which is what my doctor recommended. I usually ask a lot of questions when I go see him (he calls them quizzes) so that's why we looked at other Chemo Regimens. After looking at the statistics for my case, I chose what he recommended in the first place. But looking at the statistics with him made me feel better. Please keep in mind that the statistics i posted above were based on the pathology of my cancer, my medical history etc. They are different for everyone.

Can you ask your doctor why he/she is recommending TC*6 for you? Everyone's cancer and everyone's situation is different. So there's likely a reason behind it. If you know the reason or can see your statistics, maybe you'll be more comfortable with the decision to continue? You mentioned you have your 4th Chemo on Friday, may you can ask him/her then?

I will add that once you finish treatment, the doubts set in. (Not sure if everyone has them, but I did.) Did I do enough? What if it comes back? What if I did this or that differently? I still have doubts from time to time. I still read the notes that I took during appointments when I think that maybe I didn't do enough. Or when I see that someone else did something differently.

On a side note, I know getting through Chemo isn't easy. One of the things that I did was to "reward" myself for each treatment I finished. Usually it was something frivolous that I wanted but normally wouldn't buy. I love to garden. So for the first I promised myself a really nice set of garden gloves (no mind the cost.) I ended up with a $5 pair because I ended up liking cheaper ones the best. For the 2nd treatment I promised myself a really expensive pruner. (Which I did end up buying.) For the third treatment I got myself some garden lights that I had been looking at for awhile, but could never justify buying. And for the last treatment I got myself a magnolia tree. My mom had Chemo for Uterine Cancer and I had her doing the same thing and it seemed to help some. For her it was things like flowers, a new lamp and a comforter. I'd ask her how she was going to reward herself each time and it gave her something to think about. So maybe reward yourself in some way to give yourself something to look forward to after going through each treatment? And as a recognition that it isn't easy and you deserve something nice for getting through it. I hope Friday's treatment goes as easy as possible for you.

Hello,

It's been 2 months since my sister had her last 4th TC chemo treatment and so far she has been doing good, her hair is growing back, however her finger nails are still dark in color and also seem a bit tick. She has had a hard time sleeping and her energy is also low. We had consultation with the Onco - I had many questions unanswered and this is why i wanted to ask you for your help. One of my questions was: If a Pet scans will be done now ( She was stage 1 -1.9 cm, node negative, TNBC with very close margin 0.2 mm to the muscle. Radiation was NOT recommended- this was very concerning to me due to the close margin. Her Onco said that at this stage Pet Scans or any other kind of scans were NOT needed - Not even blood test to follow up after chemo. Has anyone had the same response from their onco. I worry so much about the treatment not been aggressive and having to wait for symptoms to appear in order for scans to be done. Also has any one done natural med. after chemo. I have read about Brassica Tea from JH hospital - Tea made from Broccoli sprouts- Is there anything I should be concern at the this point that maybe the onco did not mention-

Please give me some advice.

Thank you to all may the new year bring us all health and happiness

Good Day,

Chi-girl- I'm glad to hear from you- my sister had bilateral mastectomies, tumor was 1.9 mm with node negative, however, the posterior margin was very close 0.2 mm- with Negative Sentinel Node. The margins was " Clear" but very close. She had 4x TC- The Radiation Specialist said the risk outweigh the benefit and this is why she recommended against it. I read some where that for TNBC better results are achieved if radiation is done to the full breast even if nodes were negative. I wish I had read this before - It's just so hard to stop thinking about the possibility of the cancer returning and not catching it early if test such as pet scans or blood test are done for early breast cancer. Chi-girl, have you had Vit. D levels checked. I keep reading about Vit. D - Which Onco never mentioned either. Her next visit will be in 6 months.

I've read various things regarding Vitamin D and how treatment is more successful for women with good levels before it starts, how women with TNBC almost universally have very low Vitamin D levels, etc. I can't get mine up even taking 10,000 IUs of D3 daily.

Nutritionforcancer, what herbs did you use? I definitely want to come at this from a nutritional standpoint as well.