Seeking Advice on Chemotherapy Options After Breast Cancer Surgery

I am in the exact same position as you. I am looking at Signatera test to determine if I should do chemo since the chemo kills the circulating cancer cells in the blood. Since the lymph nodes were negative I want to make sure I need chemo before doing the four recommended treatments

Thank you for your response Cindi. What treatment did they recommend for you?

My doctor gave me two options. 1. Taxotere and carbo 2. Carbo and red devil. I think those are the names of the drugs. I’m waiting to get the signatera blood test results before making any decisions. If there are no circulating cells then I wouldn’t do any treatment. I would repeat the blood test every 3 months. I like a stepped approach.

Hi ladies I was diagnosed with TN had 1.2cm stage 1 grade 2. Had lumpectomy two lymph nodes removed. All good nothing in the nodes. Removal of cancer margins cleared. I'm starting radiation in a week and also doing the Signatera test. At this time I'm opting out of chemo. Had bone Marraw disease 23 years ago and no way do I want them killing my bone marrow with chemo. Putting it in God's hands changing some eating habits and cutting back on drinking. Taking soursop, both liquid and drinking the tea. Also eating about 8 apricot seeds for the B17. It's such a shame that the government stop allowing the B17 IVs because it's a cancer killer.. Everyone should look for the Fenbendizol Cancer Group on FB very interesting what patients are taking. God Bless🙏🙏🙏

Thanks Cindi, good luck with your test. Thanks Brenda for sharing. Where do you get the soursops and the apricot seeds?

Good morning I ordered the organic apricot seeds from Amazon and the sour sop I ordered from a site on FB. I did also order from Amazon as well.

I heard that ACT is the red devil and you have a chance of heart problems and it can also cause Leukemia later. I had a Mastectomy at the end of October no cancer in lymph nodes and negative margin, stage 3 1.4cm. My doctor is doing TC starting in January. Do what makes you comfortable. If you don’t like what they want to use get a second opinion

My Dr told me that Red devil is so strong that a patient is only allowed to have it eight times in a lifetime and that it damages your heart. I was scheduled for four treatments but only had one because it brought my white blood cell count too far down too fast. I see a heart specialist twice a year to make sure I am ok. Hope you do fine.

Hi Cathy, I wonder why they are taking a long break to chemo. Maybe bec they did mastectomy vs lumpectomy? I started TC on November 13 a month after lumpectomy. Do the cold cap,mitten and socks. Those help. Nobody prepared me for side effect, I had nausea which I managed, but the body aches were the worst. The doctor didn’t tell me to take Claritin ( which helps with pain apparently). It took a whole week to get over it though I still have residual aches. I pushed myself to walk daily, or at least 4-5 x weekly. On the 5th day that’s when I noted my tolerance level dipped. Just reach out, I will try to share my experience as I proceed. So far, no hair loss 🙏

Hi Ingrid, what tx did you end up getting. I hope all is well w you. I had the TC and I feel like my heart is racing. My husband said we made the right choice bec ACT could damage my heart.

42 years old. Clinical stage 1A, Prognostic stage 1B sporadic TNBC diagnosed Sept 19, 2024. I started my current neoadjuvant chemo (NAC) regimen of TC (nab paclitaxel + carboplatin) + keytruda every 3 weeks with T weekly. At 6 weeks in I had a cCR (clinical complete response) on PET. Pending imaging after 12 weeks, I will likely move to surgery. If the biopsies show a pCR (pathological complete response) my Onco and I have seriously talked about avoiding the AC adjuvant chemo regimen because of my young age and risk of secondary leukemia 5-10 years down the road, age being important because I theoretically have many more years of life to live than someone who is in their 70s and the type of leukemia that occurs from AC has a very poor prognosis. If pathology shows I don’t reach pCR, we agree that AC should be done as the risk of not giving the treatment and still having cancer is higher than the risk of cardio toxicity and secondary leukemia. TNBC is just too aggressive. I will continue keytruda for a year no matter what. While not doing AC isn’t standard of care currently, there is emerging research around de-escalation strategies for lower staged breast cancer that reaches pCR with NAC. There are also studies that look at AC vs platinum based therapies (like carboplatin) with many showing similar outcomes, only platinum based have less toxicities . Both are worthy and important research endeavors and should discussed with your oncologist. It is your right has a patient to ask for second opinions even if you just want to discuss this. Everything is a risk benefit analysis with breast cancer, and healthcare in general. I wish we could all have more certainty and no risk because the decisions are we have to make are painful and feel impossible. No one should be put in our position. I always tell people that cancer is a series of making the least worst choice, but we’re all doing the best we can! Talk to your Oncologist about all viable choices and make collaborative plans. Everyone’s cancer and risk profile is different, nuanced, and dynamic. I wish everyone love and peace and good outcomes from your treatment of this terrible disease. ❤️

Making treatment decisions can feel overwhelming, especially when weighing potential benefits against possible side effects. Many people in the TNBC community have faced similar choices between different chemotherapy regimens, and it's completely understandable to carefully consider factors like family health history and previous treatment experiences. Discussing your concerns about cardiac risks and your history with parotid cancer treatment with your oncology team can help ensure you make the most informed decision for your specific situation. What questions are you planning to ask your doctor at your next appointment?