Who did TC

Mar04, there are many of us on TC (Taxotere/Cytoxan). We have a thread (conversation) on the Chemotherapy part of the discussion boards called "Anyone Getting Just Taxotere and Cytoxan," or something like that.  The thread was started in January 2008 and has been going ever since, with women joining and "graduating" each week.

Has your oncologist recommended TC for your tumor, or is that something you want to investigate?

otter 

OK, I understand.  After I posted, I saw that you had also started a thread asking about AC+T.  I don't know which would be best for triple-negative BC.  It seems like most of the triple-neg women here are on aggressive chemo regimens, like ACT or AC+T, or even stronger, especially if there's a positive node.

It's true that there is some evidence of Adriamycin working better on HER2+ than HER2- tumors.  I think the jury's still out on that, though.  Adriamycin works on rapidly growing tumors, so the HER2 status might just be a surrogate for something else.

One place you might check for more advice, if you haven't already, is the topic dedicated to "Triple Negative" BC.

You can see most of this in my sig line--my IDC was 1.8 cm, Grade 2, ER+ PR- HER2-.  My 3 sentinel nodes were negative, and there was no lymphovascular invasion.  The "trigger" that sent me to chemo was an Oncotype DX recurrence score of 26.  (Oncotype testing is only done on ER+ BC.)

Other factors that worried my oncologist were the size of my tumor (better if it had been less than 1 cm; mine was close to 2 cm); the fact that it was PR-, which sometimes is associated with more aggressive growth; a grade of "2" ("1" would have been so much nicer); and my age (I'm not old enough to put out to pasture, apparently).

My first onco said he would be giving me AC (Adriamycin/Cytoxan).  He did not want to talk about any alternatives.  I consulted a second onco, who also recommended AC until she studied my medical history; then she suggested TC (Taxotere/Cytoxan).  Neither of them uses CMF much anymore; it's sort of considered "chemo light."

One other source of info on effectiveness of chemo is a website called "Adjuvant! Online" (www.adjuvantonline.com).  Oncos use it to predict risk of recurrence based on different tumor characteristics and chemo regimens. Registration is free, but you're supposed to be a "medical professional" to use the site.

You are doing the right thing by investigating the options.

otter