Chemoresistance and other treatment options

Andi622
Andi622 Member Posts: 6
edited December 2018 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After

I was looking for information on my breast cancer support group on Facebook and am not getting any responses. Someone recommended I try reaching out here, and I’m hoping to find someone who has been in similar shoes.

Found out that I'm level 3 chemo-resistant. I didn't even know this was a thing until now. The concern is that my second line of defense isn't in place since the chemo won't kill any stray cancer cells in the body. Anyone in the same boat? How was it handled? The oncologist wants to put me on a cocktail of an aromatase inhibitor, ovarian suppression, tamoxifen, and endocrine therapy with everolimus (MTOR inhibitor). I'm 36 and trying to get my hormones down to 0... I know it's not going to be easy on my body. So I'm just trying to pick brains of people who have been in similar shoes....

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2018

    Dear Andi622,

    Welcome to the BCO community. We are sorry for what brings you here but glad that you reached out for support and information. It might be helpful if we knew a bit more about your breast cancer. You might consider completing your diagnosis and treatment info in your profile and making it public so it will show up in your signature line. You also might consider using the search function in the blue tool bar to your left and typing in chemoresistance. It will take you to other posts that are discussing the same thing and it might lead to others with whom you can message. Let us know if you need additional help. The Mods

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  • Andi622
    Andi622 Member Posts: 6
    edited December 2018

    Thank you so much for the quick response. I did just fill out the diagnosis and treatment sections,and I will also look for other posts regarding chemoresistance.

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  • hhfp
    hhfp Member Posts: 51
    edited December 2018

    One area of recent research is immunotherapy focusing on PD-1 and PD-L1. But this only works if your cancer is PD-1 or PD-L1 positive. The drugs allows your own immune cells to realize that the cancer cell does not belong and to fight it. Ask your MO to ask some colleags about it.

    Info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PD-1_and_PD-L1_inhib...

    List of drugs: https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-si...


    More info:

    Keytruda (Pembrolzumab):

    http://mb.cision.com/Public/3069/2402463/903bc1c52...


    Tecentriq (Atezolizumab):

    https://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/tecentr...

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tecentriq-immunotherp...


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  • NoteRed
    NoteRed Member Posts: 86
    edited December 2018

    hello, how did you find out about chemo resistance? Is there a test?

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  • Andi622
    Andi622 Member Posts: 6
    edited December 2018

    It was in my pathology report, post surgery. I had chemo before surgery and they compared the largest mass findings before chemo to its size and shape after they removed it.

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  • Momchichi
    Momchichi Member Posts: 133
    edited December 2018

    Hi Andi,

    I don’t know about chemo resistance but I had significant residual disease in the lymph nodes after chemo and asked them to retest it. Turns out I was HER2+ in some nodes and triple negative in the breast. I then received targeted therapy for HER2 after surgery. Not sure how often that happens or if your dr already rechecked you but I wanted to share my experience just in case. I do remember from my cousin’s stage 3 breast cancer treatment, that she didn’t have much response to chemo but her dr had told her not to expect much since she was lower grade and so highly ER/PR positive. She was told tamoxifen was her biggest weapon. That was about10 years ago for her, she took it for 5 years because that was standard of care back then. She also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed and was about your age, too.

    I hope you get the answers you need to feel confident in your treatment!

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  • Andi622
    Andi622 Member Posts: 6
    edited December 2018

    hhfp, how do I know if it’s PD-1 or PD-L1

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