How do I choose a chemo plan?!?!

I did Taxotere/Carboplatin (plus Herceptin and Perjeta for the HER2 part) x 6 and cold capped because of the Taxotere. I didn't lose my hair. I thinned and no one knew I was undergoing chemo unless I had told them. I did this because the oncology pharmacist recommended it. I was offered the AC and then Taxol, but it was a longer protocol. For me, I feel I did the right thing. I was stage 2, grade 2, no nodes, lumpectomy.

Just my experience, but I had an easier time with AC than with Taxotere.

What was your Oncotype score? ACT is more the more "aggressive" chemo regimen of the two, but since you're younger with a grade 3 cancer, that might be a good reason to choose ACT.

The permanent hair loss from Taxotere is scary, but as someone else mentioned, you could try cold capping. Best wishes on whatever you decide - I hope it goes smoothly for you!

Hi Tyrone, I was treated with Taxotere in 2013. I was never given an option to take another drug. If I was, I would have chosen Taxol. When I researched Taxotere in 2013, I couldn't find much information about it - or about the women who experienced permanent hair loss. I thought maybe it was a fluke. I feel very differently now. I was lucky on some level - my hair back grew back after Taxotere, but it isn't the same. It's very thin and wispy and I have much less hair than I had before. My doctor told me that it might have been caused by my hormone treatment, but I disagree.

I went through chemo in 1993 and afterwards my hair grew back completely normal. After that, I was on hormone treatment for 10 years and never experienced any hair loss. The first time I noticed a difference in my hair was after treatment with Taxotere. I was lucky because I had a lot of hair to begin with and I believe that helped me. If it had been thinner to begin with, I think I would have bald spots right now. Also, they had to reduce the dose of Taxotere I received after my first treatment because my white blood cell count was so low. That might have also saved my hair. I feel terrible for the women who are bald and I believe 100% that it was caused by Taxotere. I don't want to scare you. I just want to urge you to do your research. Ask your doctor if and why he would prefer one drug over the other. Also, read the stories of the women who were affected. Go to the website "A Head of Our Time". In the end, you have to make the decision that's right for you, but I wish someone had warned me before I agreed to it.

Good luck! I wish you well!

I did TCHP so I had taxotere, hair is growing back slowly so I’m not sure what it will look like yet, but more importantly I had a complete response, my large tumor was completely gone and lymph nodes were also cancer free. Choose what you feel is best for you

Seektruth welcome to Breastcancer.org and thank you for sharing your experiences with chemo and hair loss. If there's anything you need help with or have any comment for us, please feel free to contact us via private message. We're always here!

Best wishes,

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