Efficacy of Taxotere or Taxol

jeffntate · August 2007

My wife has had 3 treatments with Taxotere and so far the tumor hasn't shrunk. I read somewhere online that a high percentage of people have good results with Taxotere, but read somewhere else that if it works it typically is observable after one treatment. Anyone with experience on this? It is kind of discouraging to see no progress (but maybe the fact it isn't growing is good enough but with a 6.5 cm x 7.5 cm it would be hard to notice small amounts of growth).

Jeff

FloridaLady · August 2007

I did not responsed to Taxotere either. My cancer triple in size w
hile on it. Don't lose heart there are other chemos.

twink · August 2007

My tumor responded to Taxotere almost immediately. By the second Tx there was a noticeable reduction in size. The response to AC (which preceded the Taxotere) was not noticeable. After my 4th DD Tx, the tumor went from 3.5 cm to <2mm.

Anonymous · August 2007

Hi Twink
I am very frightened as today I discovered a mass under my left arm (original tumor was in the left breast). I will have my last TC tx this Friday, then my mast in about 3-4 weeks. The reason I was on Taxotere was to shrink any possible tumors or cancer before my surgery. I am worried this new mass is another tumor or cancer and it has developed during my chemo.

twink · August 2007

Ohh Jean...don't spend too much time worrying about this. It's unlikely to see that happen while on chemo. After my surgery, I had a mass under my arm too...thought it was a cancerous node. It was a node but just a node doing what it's supposed to do...catch all the fluid from my surgery. Wait until you see your onc on Friday. Let me know how you make out Jean. I know the feeling of worrying about a new bump...I'm sure it will all work out fine for you. ((((Jean))))

Anonymous · August 2007

Hi Twink
My first surgery was June 20, chemo was a month later. Do you think it is possible the fluids could take that long to filtered into the nodes? My PET/CT was done around July 18, and showed "Activity". My first onc never explained what that meant, however both my new onc and the BS said it means the cancer most likely spread to the nodes. I saw my BS Tuesday and he said he will be removing 12-24 nodes. Does that sound like a lot? I will be seeing my PS tomorrow morning then on to my last tx before the bilateral. My onc said he would see me if I wanted him to, he's so nice and much kinder than my first onc. He said he would not have given me the pre-surgical chemo, but had ordered surgery first then TAC, which I will be having after the surgery.

twink · August 2007

I don't know what's going on with your nodes Jean but, in my case, it was nothing abnormal. As for the number of nodes, the # varies. In my case Level 1 and 2 axillary nodes totalled 17, including two sentinel nodes.

I'm so glad to hear you're happier with this onc. The last one sounded like a real piece of work. So much for the Hippocratic Oath...I guess it applies only to non-HMO patients.

I had pre-surgical (neoadjuvant) chemo too, so don't worry, even though the onc may have been a poor communicator and not empathetic, that approach isn't unusual. I had AC (4DD) in Feb/Mar, Taxotere (4DD) in Apr/May, bilat mastectomy in Jun, Axillary Node Dissection in Jul and now Carboplatin until Oct. I'll porobably have radiation after that. Tx won't be over until after the first anniversary of finding the damn lump. It's been a long 12 months.

When is your surgery scheduled?

Anonymous · August 2007

Twink.
I will be seeing my PS this mornng, then chemo at 4:30. I may try and see my onc in between. He normally sees his patients in the infusement center of the hospital, but said as I was going in so late, he "may' not make it. (He's a very religious Jew and I believe does not work after sundown, but I may be wrong.)

I saw my BS on Tuesday, he and my Onc want my surgery 3-4 weeks after the chemo. Then I will be having TAC, but I don't knwo for how long. My onc wants me to have Rads, BS said no, as it will make reconstruciton difficult if down at a later date, and may mess it up if done prior to the rads.

Have a great weekend, hope it's cooler there than here..Los Angeles.

Indigoblue · September 2007

Jean.

Do you have a cancer 'BOARD" a group of doctors discussing your case? If so, see them all at once; if not, find a hospital providing a panel of surgeons, oncologists, radiologist, nurses, and patients who have been through this procedure.

Sounds like you are confised and bewildered by the doctors and the tough decisins presented. There should be "SOMEONE"
to guide your choices, and you should have access 24/7 when posed with these decisions regarding your quality and quantity of life-altering surgery.

Indi

Anonymous · September 2007

Indi
No I have not spoken with a Board, However, all my Dr are assoicated with Cedar's Sinai, one of the best hospitals in the US, and work together very well. That is all except for my first Onc.

My PS and Onc both head their departments. wish I had done a little searching before selecting my first "nightmare" onc. However I was extremely frightened at the time as I had developed this very large (6c) tumor in a few DAYS. My breast was also showing signs of IBC, so my GP wanted things done quickly. With out her help I would have waited 2-3 months for my mammo and US. She phone the lab and insisting it be done NOW.

The same happened in regards to the excisional biopsy. My surgeon agreed with my GP that this was very important and needed to be done in a few days (as did the Radiologist who reviewed both last years clear mammo and this years and my US)

The only reason it took 10 days was his assistance continue to tell my dh and me that there was nothing wrong, I could wait for a couple MONTHs, as BC grows slowly. (true in most cases but not all, and definately not in mine). She then refused to allow me to talk with the Dr again!

My GP called the BS and informed him of what she was doing, and I was bumped up. She actually did tried to stop the surgery once again, this time at 3 Pm the day before! I had to call my GP, Carto, and PM Dr to have this reversed.

Going thru BC is Hell in of itself but having this woman do this has been unbelievable. I hope she doesn't try and pull anything like this again.Her boss will be doing the Mast and working with the PS, possibly 2 other Drs (PM/ATH) then there is the 8 hour ER, this is not something that can be dropped the day before. _Jean

Anonymous · September 2007

Twink

Got my surgery date - Wednesday Sept 26th. I'll be having both the bilateral and reconstruction. I have been told it may run over 8 hours. I don't know if they figured in the extra time to move the darn pacemaker. (which may have caused this whole thing to start with, it went off over 165 times in 80 days - but that's another story.

Karyll · September 2007

I am going to have FEC x4 and Taxotere x4 - post mastectomy right side. I start sept 27th and is on chemo thread too. But with the triple negative dx today, I am also learning a lot of other things here.....

jeffntate · September 2007

In case I missed anyone, my wife had to have the mastectomy when we went back to start AC last week. The tumor had grown to 8 cm x 8 cm on the last cycle of Taxotere and they said if we didn't get it now and it grew any further skin grafting could be required. She developed a hemotoma and had to be re-opened 8 hours after surgery but now is recovering fine. They said she will have 4 AC DD cycles and then decide by the tumor board on the Gemzar-Carboplatin. They told us that there has been no large study on GC so we would have to accept known toxicity with unknown benefit. However I have read enough about triple negs and platins to want her to pursue this. They also want to do radiation now, perhaps because it grew so big. So it's going to be 4 AC, 4 GC, and 30 rads ahead after she recovers. I also asked if they could test the tumor in any way to determine if it would respond to AC or GC (since the Taxotere did nothing) but the answer was no.

Jeff

twink · September 2007

Thinking about you Jean. Hope your surgery went smoothly and that you are resting well. Let us know how you're making out when you have a few minutes.

T

Sadie-Rose · September 2007

Hi Jeffntate,

My tumor was triple negative, stage IIb, grade 3 in 2002. After a first surgery to check the spread of cancer to my nodes, I started chemotherapy. By the way I had one positive node.

I had 3 rounds of AC and there wasn't any change in the size of my tumor. My oncologist immediately had me switch to TX and Carboplatin. I had 6 rounds of that cocktail. I had surgery to remove the tumor which had gotten smaller and then did radiation.

I am now three years out from treatment and feeling quite well. My oncologist is a researcher and connected with a teaching college. She said we were way ahead with our choice of using carboplatin. She stated that at the last two breast cancer conferences in San Antinio, Texas the presenters discussed carboplatin as now becoming part of standard treatment for triple neg. tumors.

I think the difficult thing here is everyone's body reacts differently to the chemo cocktails. I think it could be helpful to get another opinion. If it takes two, three or four consultations to help you both fell confident, it will be worth the peace of mind.

Sadie

Efficacy of Taxotere or Taxol

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