21 weeks of chemo? Is this too much?

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July152020
July152020 Member Posts: 53
edited August 2020 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After

I just had a lumpectomy a couple days ago and still wait for the pathology report. But clinically I am T1N1 grade 3, 1.4cm. ER/PR+ and her2-.

my oncol recommended chemo 4 times every two weeks and then once a week for 8 week, is this too much?


he thinks I am young (43) and healthy so he's going for an aggressive treatment.

Has anyone had similar treatment?

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  • Racy
    Racy Member Posts: 2,651
    edited August 2020

    Hi and welcome. You need to know whether your tumour is ER, PR and HER2 positive or negative. These details will guide treatment decisions.

    There should be some information about these receptors in the pathology report from your biopsy. The pathology report following surgery will confirm, add to or otherwise this information.

    Post again when you have details of ER, PR and HER2.

    You will get great support from this forum. ;).

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  • NorCalS
    NorCalS Member Posts: 288
    edited August 2020

    Hi. I have triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) which is typically grade 3 - so fast growing and aggressive. I had 4 cycles of Adriamycin and cytocine every two weeks and 8 cycles of weekly taxol. I had chemo before surgery. The fact that you are node positive and grade 3 may have factored into the chemo treatment.

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  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited August 2020

    it's not only the duration, it's the type that matters too. Some chemo is given over shorter time, other over longer. What specifically have you been prescribed? Offhand what you're describing might be AC+T which is pretty common and what inhad in 2018 from Feb to July.

    Here's a page listing some of the common chemo drugs https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/chemotherap...


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  • July152020
    July152020 Member Posts: 53
    edited August 2020

    thanks! I upstaged my post.


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  • July152020
    July152020 Member Posts: 53
    edited August 2020

    hi NorcalS,


    sounds like your treatment is similarly to mine, how did your body handle it?

    I am er/pr+ and her2-.

    Thanks

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  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited August 2020

    You are not getting 21 weeks of chemo. You are getting 12 sessions of chemo, administered over a period of 21 weeks. That's a very common protocol.

    Whether it's appropriate depends on the specifics of your diagnosis, not just the TNM, but the hormone status.

    ...Just saw your update in your post. With an ER+/PR+/HER2+ cancer and being N1, have you had the Oncotype test done? This would determine the aggressiveness of the cancer; if the score is low, that could indicate no need for chemo (although unlikely given the positive node, grade 3 and your age) or could lean your Oncologist to suggest a shorter chemo regimen.

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  • July152020
    July152020 Member Posts: 53
    edited August 2020

    thank you Bessie. Mine is er+pr+her2-.

    Thanks for replying to me. I am still waiting for pathology report. My Oncologist said if I have any node positive, then he won’t even use oncotype score because it’s not accurate.

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  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited August 2020

    Sorry, I made a typo in my previous post and put HER2+ instead of HER2-. My comments about the Oncotype were about ER+/PR+/HER2-.

    What your MO said is not true about the Oncotype test and node positive. For those who are node positive, there is a difference risk scale associated with each Oncotype score specifically to address the fact that the patient is node positive.

    The following link is from the Canadian Genomic Health site, but the data/studies are the same as those referenced in the U.S.:

    Clinical evidence for the Oncotype DX® test in node-positive patients

    .

    This is less clear/easy to find, but here is a link is to the Genomic Health U.S. Healthcare Professionals webpage; the information about Node Positive trials is about 1/2 way down the page:

    About the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score® Test


    And here are two pages of a sample Oncotype report specifically for Node Positive patients:

    image

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