Anatje,

I’m so glad you started this topic. I’m curious as well. I did not get a PCR either, even though a breast MRI prior to surgery did not show any tumor. I was diagnosed June of 2019 (stage IIIc) and I am currently onXeloda to help prevent recurrence, so I am hopeful that you get a lot of positive responses to this thread.

I had neoadjuvent chemo - AC-T. I did not receive carboplatin because my test for BRCA 1 and 2 and any other known genetic defect came out negative. MO did not believe carboplatin would be effective for me.

At the time of diagnosis, I had multiple nodes involved, hence the staging of IIIc. The surgery sample showed 1.2 cm left in primary tumor and one node with 4 mm. I also had isolated tumor cells in several nodes, but MO explained that these are considered node negative because very few cancer cells. Also my primary tumor was originally over 5.5 cm and the pathology report after surgery stated that the tumor bed had less than 1% cancer cells. I had sentinel node biopsy and axillary node dissection.

I agree with NorCalS about Xeloda and keytruda... always good to have chess moves thought out in advance.

NorCal was it Melinda Telli you tried to see?

Re Carboplatin-- my MO said that even without a BRCA mutation, frequently high grade TNBC is basal or 'basal-like' and still responds well to Carbo. I had Carboplatin and Taxotere as my treatment. (That's the Her2 treatment - TCHP- minus the 2 specific Her2 drugs.) Possibly you can switch to that if the response is not what you want after the first half?

I always worry I may jinx myself posting something like this, but I know when I was diagnosed I desperately wanted to find more people like me. I did not have a PCR, far from it actually- After AC-T chemo (with 2 doses of Carbo) I still had a 3 cm tumor and 8 positive nodes. That was 3 years ago. I also was not BRCA+, but I talked my doctor into trying the Carbo anyway, and I'm glad that I did because based on my outcome at surgery we know it probably didn't work. I do not believe my cancer was basal like, which is why Xeloda after surgery was so important to me. I've made a lot of lifestyle changes since diagnosis- I largely stick to a low fat diet, exercise 6 days a week for atleast 60 minutes and also take many supplements. I also took bicalutamide for 2 years (further testing showed I was AR+) and have been on TM for over 2 years which is depleting my copper. My doctors now tell me I'm entering the tail end of the risk curve for recurrence, which seems so strange because my risk was so high in the beginning- So long story short, I would advocate for yourself and if you feel like you would have regrets not doing Carbo, push your doctor a little more on it- One huge thing I've learned through this process is you have you advocate for yourself, and doctors don't necessarily know everything and YOU have to feel comfortable with your treatment because its YOUR life, not theirs, at risk.

Hi Sam0623 and others, thank you for posting. I am wondering how you went about getting TM. My diet has been high in copper which worries me given recent studies.

TM is tumor markers. Here's a link to the abbreviations.

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/131/topic...

Hi Mamacure.

I was on Xeloda for 6 months. I had AC-T, lumpectomy, radiation, then Xeloda. Xeloda is tedious because you have to take it twice daily, but I think it is less harsh on the body. Don’t get me wrong, there are still side effects, but I think a lot of people tolerate it better than AC. I thought the hand-foot syndrome, which is the most common side effect, was not that difficult to deal with and for the most part I had milder hand-foot. Headaches, which according to MO is not a common side effect, was the worst part of Xeloda for me. I was on the two week on Xeloda and one week off Xeloda schedule, so the week off did help tamp down the side effects. Overall, I’m glad I added Xeloda to my treatment plan

HopeHeal,

Thanks for the article. This stuff is so interesting to me

I did a ton of integrative meds during treatment. I saw an iIntegrative MO and did everything he recommended.

When I brought up copper chelation my regular MO. having read about it, he said it was very risky. Integrative MO had not recommended it but I saw something online. It struck me as something both considered too risky for prophylactic purposes.