Should I feel the tumor shrinking?

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amhbeks
amhbeks Member Posts: 4
edited September 2016 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After

Hello,

I have gone through my first cycle of chemo. I'm expecting 4 three week cycles. I get Taxol weekly, and a Taxol/Carbo mix every three weeks- I hope this makes sense! My tumor is large and TN, stage IIB, grade 3, with one affected lymph node. I wonder how I can tell if the chemo is working.Should I be able to notice the tumor and swollen node feeling smaller? 


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  • LifeAloft
    LifeAloft Member Posts: 150
    edited September 2016

    Hi amhbeks, that's hard to say, everyone responds differently. Some respond right away, some take longer. Personally, I didn't feel a big difference until most of my way through AC, by the end of Taxol I could barely feel it. I had a 4cm tumor with 2mm left at surgery, but my 3cm lymph node tumor was gone.

    Good luck to you!

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  • AnotherMichelle
    AnotherMichelle Member Posts: 39
    edited September 2016

    Hi, Amhbeks,

    I know it's hard to hear about so many things BC-related, but everyone responds differently. I learned at the end of chemo from my MO that the tumor type and grade also make a difference in response to chemo. He put it like this: Chemo attacks very fast-growing cells, so if your cancer cells are fast-growing, the tumor will likely shrink up (over the entire regimen) more significantly than someone whose cancer is slower-growing. This suggests that chemo is good for both types of cells.

    Take care of yourself.

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  • nbarkach
    nbarkach Member Posts: 16
    edited September 2016

    I'm a little nervous. I have several cancers on both breasts (unbelievable... my husband says I'm an over achiever! lol) and the largest tumor is 3 cm HER2+ grade 3. I've been through 3 of 6 rounds of chemo so far and it has not shrunk much. I'm starting to freak out a little, especially since it invasive. I thought it would be shrinking much faster.

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  • ElaineTherese
    ElaineTherese Member Posts: 3,328
    edited September 2016

    nbarkach,

    My tumor was 5 cm+ HER2+ Grade 3. I did AC+T, and my oncologist measured my tumor as it shrank with a ruler. Yep, a plastic ruler! How high tech. We do know that it actually shrank though because we did a baseline MRI and PET scan before chemo. Then, we did a post-chemo MRI and PET scan. Those scans showed that chemo had wiped out the active cancer in my breast and lymph node. These findings were later confirmed by the pathology report from my lumpectomy and ALND (all clear of active cancer). So, you can only tell -- for sure -- after you've had surgery.

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  • amhbeks
    amhbeks Member Posts: 4
    edited September 2016

    Thanks all, that's sort of what I figured. I was measured with the plastic ruler too.  :)  I hate how you wake up at 2:00 in the morning and think too much. I'm trying to remind myself that I'm only a quarter of the way through. 

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