Anybody here been on FEC chemotherapy for Triple Negative BC?

Anonymous · October 2016

Hello sisters.

I'm gonna start my chemotherapy next month November. I just want to know what the effects of FEC combination chemo on triple negative breast cancer. Was it effective? Was there pCR? What about the survival rate? Are there any long-term survivors here? Just asking sisters. Please help.

Anonymous · October 2016

I wish there's someone in here with a similar case and regimen as mine. i would appreciate the friendship and feedback i would be getting.

God bless

Trisha-Anne · October 2016

Hello gmmiph

Hopefully someone will come along to help. I think FEC is a bit unusual for triple negative, it's usually ACT - I had FEC-D the first time with bc, but that was triple positive. This second time, with triple negative, I had ACT. FEC is also relatively unusual in the US - here in Australia it's used more. Do you know why you won't be getting a taxane? ie either Taxol or Taxotere?

Are you in the US - or somewhere else?

Trish

xoxo

Anonymous · October 2016

Hi Trisha-anne and kayb,

Thank you for your wonderful posts and kind words. I really appreciate them.

i guess all of us have doubts and fears about chemo drugs especially for first-timers like me with just a week to my chemo sched. My crash research about FEC is limited given the short notice i got from my MO two days ago. I came across a 2014 clinical study on Systemic Treatments for TNBC in www.ncbi.nlm.nih.com by BS Jadav, and part of this study shown in table 2 says the 6 FEC sessions with a 21-day interval produced a 56% 7yrDFS(Disease-Free Survival) among 171 cases. However, that same table also showed a 74% 7yr DFS if the regimen is 4FEC sessions on 21-day interval, followed by Paclitaxel weekly for 8 weeks. I just read about it yesterday, a day after my MO appointment. So i am now contemplating to just go with the FEC treatment for 2 sessions and wait for the periodic blood tests results to see if the FEC alone is effective, and then talk to my MO if we can add the Paclitaxel later. There are also other factors to consider like the Pathological Complete Response and Overall Survival rate and others.

My MO is so confident with the FEC alone, really egging me on, saying many have benefitted from it, but how many is "many"? i am even wondering what the success rate of my MO is! It is scary to just go into things where there is no point of return and all you can hear later is Sorry.

Another thing that adds to my confusion is my hormonal assays with a weak ER+ of 5%, PR+ of 3%, and a HER2-. Most says i am really TNBC.

Btw, i am asian, from the Philippines.

Again, thank you for your great posts and i will look into that article/link you gave me.

I will include you in my prayers as i have done with my other friends herefor our full cure and recovery.

keep in touch and no goodbyes please.

Hugs!

gmmiph

Anonymous · October 2016

hi trisha anne,

i missed your question about why i was not recommended for taxene-based drugs. well, it is my mo's call, based on the results of my lab tests, all ok accdg to her except for abt half cm nodule found in my right lung and a small lesion in my liver, wc is indistinguishable accdg to the ct scan result. my mo says FEC is a good choice for early stage breast cancer dx and for my specific condition. Accdg to her, taxene drugs are for more advanced cases and is more expensive. but as i said, i would try to suggest the addition of paclitaxel in my regimen later. i also noticed in your profile that your hormonal assays keep changing. is that really possible? i've read the assays of others here and noticed they are consistently the same. any explanation on this?

kayb,

i opened the link you gave me and found useful info. the only thing is that the study was done in 2011 while the one i mentioned was done in 2014. i also noticed they both came from the same website. thank you for that. i will still continue on surfing the net for more about fec and post it here if i feel it would be helpful for us although our cases are different, you being triple positive and me, tnbc.

this is all for now. take care.

gmmiph

rozem · October 2016

gmmiph - I just answered your last post

I would ask why they didn't choose AC-T every 2 weeks (dose dense) vs FEC D every 3. With FEC you usually get D which is a taxane drug like the "T" in AC-T

are they saying only FEC not with D? I would absolutely ask about this - the taxane portion of the treatment protocol is very important

My gf is triple neg and they wanted her on 2week AC-T as its the biggest guns they have. If you are her2+ you have herception, ER positive hormone therapy but with triple neg chemo is your only treatment - I would go with the big guns

rozem · October 2016

as you can see I'm Canadian as well and so is my friend

Anonymous · October 2016

rozem,

Im asian, from the philippines.

My MO says strictly FEC for me but i will suggest later to add the Paclitaxel (taxol) as well. Maybe it has something to do with my heart, coz my MO says it is a bit enlarged.

Trisha-Anne · October 2016

Hi Gimmiph

I would question not having a taxane, it does seem to be included for triple negative girls. While you are early stage, you aren't exactly early, early with a 2cm tumour and a positive node. Triple negative is notoriously hard to treat, and usually has everything thrown at it, as that's all that can be done. I personally wouldn't be relying on blood tests, as they aren't reliable. As for pathological complete response, you have already had your tumour out, so there's no way of knowing if that will happen without a tumour to measure it on. Some women have their chemo before surgery, and that can be measured by the tumour shrinking or disappearing.

As to my hormonal status changing, it does happen, although not too often. I guess the Femara I'm still taking from the first round of bc are working as this latest one is ER-!

Trish

Kayrem · October 2016

Hi Gimmiph - I thought I would add my voice to the others. I, like you, had surgery prior to my chemo so I have no idea if what they gave me gave me a complete pathological response but if you google lifemath.net you will see under the therapy calculator under "breast cancer tools" that FECx6 is either a 1st or 2nd generation chemo. FEC-D is a 3rd generation chemo, which is I believe is supposed to be better than the other 2. It may be more expensive but I believe that is because it is better! If you put your info into lifemath you will see different mortality rates depending on which chemo is used. There is less mortality with a 3rd generation chemo.

As a previous poster said chemo is our only chance at beating this. I would really question her choice to not provide you with a taxol.

Good luck.

I thought I would mention that I thought the E (Epirubicin) was the drug that caused heart problems not the taxol. Maybe someone can correct me if I am wrong

Kayrem · October 2016

Another consideration Gimmiph.... Have you been tested for a gene (Brca 1 or 2) because there are other chemo regimes that have been found to be even better, like adding a platinum. I am Brca 1 but I did not find out until almost 1 1/2 years after my diagnosis. That was the reason for my surgeries (you asked about the surgeries in the Vitamin D post). They were to prophylactic to prevent a new cancer, not to prevent a recurrence necessarily.

Anonymous · October 2016

Hi rozem, trisha, kayb, kayrem and all,

firstly, thank you for all of your wonderful posts. All of them are so sensible and very informative. All of your generous words of wisdom and advice are exactly what i want to hear to answer some lingering questions on my mind. I have not gone thru the links that some of you gave, but i definitely will do that soon. I am really glad i made this thread. I was hesitant at first, but the thought of uncertainty and being pressed for time made me do this thread. I certainly dont want to make a grave mistake about my chemo protocol, and i know all of you have also been thru this anxious moment before actual chemo.

It is good to know many people really do want to help others. Promptly and with all their hearts. For these things, i am so grateful to all of you.

And just to answer some of your questions,

Trisha, i've made my decision to clear this up with my MO asap, on whether or not taxane should be included in my protocol. I am gonna give her a call.

Kayrem, carboplatin was my first choice but my MO says it might be too harsh on my body, considering my pre-chemo lab tests results. At that moment, i havent got a clue yet on what fec and taxene drug combo can do. I just got some info on these drugs a day after my fec protocol was out by surfing thru the net and thru your help.

My MO says to call her if there's any problem and that i will do soon.

I will keep you nice ladies posted.

Wishing happy days ahead of you all.

Gmmiph.

PS

rozem,

Nice of you to pm me. I really appreciate it.

Anonymous · October 2016

hi to all of you sweet ladies,

I'm back. I just wanted to say that I've already spoken with my MO regarding my chemotherapy and cleared things up. She said it will be 3 sessions of FEC followed by a taxane drug which she did not specify yet coz it would depend on the results of my blood tests (probably docetaxel or paclitaxel) for another 3 sessions. So, now I am more confident and ready for the journey.

God Bless us all,

gmmiph

rozem · October 2016

thank you for the update. Going in to this feeling confident is very important

Good luck and keep us posted!

Anonymous · October 2016

Hi rozem and kayrem,

Thank you for the good luck wishes. Kayrem, regarding the BRCA gene testing, the answer is no, we don't have BRCA testing in the Philippines. I inquired about it before in one of the 5-star hospitals here, which incidentally is accredited with Mayo clinic. But the price is really expensive, ( the cost is about the equivalent of my mastectomy and chemo, combined) and they said that my blood samples would have to be taken to a country which performs such test (they did not mention which country). I am still considering it though.

ok ladies, that's all for now. Be healthy & Keep in touch.

gmmiph

luvBngGma · October 2016

hi. It's been quite a while since I have been on the site. I saw your post & had to comment. I am a TNBC survivor. I had a lumpectomy in 04/12. After that, I had FEC, followed by Taxotere. It's been almost 5 years, and my ONC encourages me to stop worryIng about recurrence. :-) You can do this! I also encourage you to find the new thread for those starting treatment around the same time. It really is a boost! If you have questions, just ask. Praying for your success and positive outcome

Anonymous · October 2016

Hi Joyce, welcome. Thank you for your wonderful post. I see from your signature that we have a very similar dx. It is really very encouraging to see someone like you having been thru your ordeal and surviving this long, without a recurrence. It gives me so much hope. I am from a family with a long history of cancer from starting from my grandparents. I actually saw the miseries of my own father and a beloved cousin doctor who both died on the same year. My father was not treated at all after a kidney cancer operation, dx at age 68,stage 4. My cousin doc was initially diagnosed at stage llB, underwent a mx., been thru chemo under her ONC best friend, got a NED 2 years after, and was able to go back to work for a year, then suddenly found out that she has Mets on the brain, frustrated, and died shortly after. These terrifying things made me decide that i would never undergo surgery and chemo if i will have cancer but here I am now in the same predicament as them. Ive been careful on my diet, had yearly mammo, and in 2013 found small tumor supposedly benign on my right breast, 2014/15 did not have mammo, then early 2016, found out that my tumor has grown and had to be removed. It all happened so fast, no pre adjuvant chemo, went straight thru mx & axillary lymph node removal via frozen section procedure and now wondering if i made the right decision. Your timely post gave me a sense of hope, together with the many wonderful ladies in this forum and i really appreciate it.

I am hoping that you will get past the 5 year milestone in your own journey and then forever beyond, a blissful life.

Again thank you for your kindness.

Best wishes, Hugs

gmmiph

RTChris · November 2016

Just to join in. It may be because I am in Canada, but I was treated with 4 cycles of FEC followed by 4 cycles of docetaxel.
FEC + D is pretty standard here for TN diagnosis.

I started with a ~ 6 - 8 cm tumor and 0 positive nodes (I had originally thought I was a stage 3 due to the massive size, but looks like when everything was completed I was down staged to a stage 2B. Still, I am almost 2 years post chemo completion and 2.5 years since diagnosis and today all is good. I am still a bit of a hypochondriac, and worry every time I cough or get an ache or pain. I assume that as time passes I will be able to relax more.

My opinion is and always has been to trust my doctors, they have done well by me and I am still here, currently cancer free AFAIK

Anonymous · December 2016

RTChris,

Your post is an encouragement for me!

Do you have any specific diet plan too?

RTChris · December 2016

gmmiph, I hope you can find some encouragement from my post.
I work as a radiation therapist at our local cancer center, and I am currently working on our breast unit, I try to use my experiences to hopefully help new patients feel better. I have been where they are now. There is life on the other side.
As for diet, I was careless after all treatments were done and gained 25 lbs. I am currently trying to get back on track and I have just started an exercise plan with another cancer survivor I know. I am aware that in order to improve my odds I need to deal with my bad eating habits and couch potato lifestyle.

jcpriest0469n · December 2016

gmmiph, this is the first I'll seen of your post to me. Thanks for all you said. We all come from different back grounds that influence us.I knew or know something's up with me. It's the TCC bladder cancer. Found on my yearly exam,but it's in a bad spot on the lip of the utter. He's going to check them and the kidney. Trying to stay positive.You keep an eye on yourself and listen to your body. Love to us all

Lavi · April 2017

Hi Kayrem,

Thank you for your post.I'm wrom Winnipw too. I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Triple Negative, stage 1A, no limph nodes invadion. I had surgery, lunptectomy, clear margins. I started chemo on Friday, FED-D 6 cycles.

I see you had mastectomy after your treatment and I am considrring the same if they are willing to do. I' wondering if you would want to tak to me. I' m very scared.

Thank you

Anybody here been on FEC chemotherapy for Triple Negative BC?

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