Hi, just wondering how you know what 'generation' of chemo you have. Eg I had 16 rounds of ACT - 4 AC & 12 T.I believe this can effect your risk of recurrence. Thanks in advance

A bit more on the "generation" - @Zoffiel (Marg) hullo there, your analogy is brilliant - the big thing in chemo evolution is the introduction of the taxanes which are 3rd gen I think ... Anyway the thing is they can have "better" outcomes but only for certain varieties of the disease - nobody even knew these variants existed a few years ago- and the "cost" is often higher in terms of side effects. So you buy a new Holden which turns out to be a German engineered disguised Opel and it does great if you are in a big hurry on the Autobahn but it is horrible on gravel roads outside Yackandanda where the old Holden ute will be a lot more reliable and cost a lot less. For me using the various predict tools suggested a taxane would add a small percentage improvement in survival at a high cost in likely side effects because of existing comorbidities and my age. In the event I said no to chemo altogether and one onco I saw agreed that was a good decision providing I went on the Letrozole and stayed on it. But there are no guarantees and (all sing together) "Everyone is Different" . Thinking of you Becca you will get through this!

Hello@beccabecca the chemotherapy generations refer to the changes over time as a result of research and the benefits found with combinations of chemotherapy agents. Treatment is based on individual pathology and a range of other considerations. If you have any questions about your regime and why it is chosen for you it is a very worthwhile discussion to have with your oncologist. The following article talks about the generations of chemotherapy and advances in knowledge over time https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-015-0439-8

It's 3rd generation based on "predict" information for professionals, I'm guessing this is why you are asking:Using PREDICTThe model is easy to use following data entry for an individual patient including patient age, tumour size, tumour grade, number of positive nodes, ER status, HER2 status, KI67 status and mode of detection. Survival estimates, with and without adjuvant therapy, are presented in visual and text formats. Treatment benefits for hormone therapy and chemotherapy are calculated by applying relative risk reductions from the Oxford overview to the breast cancer specific mortality. Predicted mortality reductions are available for both second generation (anthracycline-containing, >4 cycles or equivalent) and third generation (taxane-containing) chemotherapy regimens.

Does 'generation' here mean a time thing, as in age of the type of chemotherapy? A later invented chemo being a later generation?Geeze I put that badly. It's late. I hope you get what I mean!

@beccabecca Yes I agree regarding the screen test etc. My mammogram was negative 5 weeks before a lump felt. Couldn't be seen fue to breast density. Is my survival really different. I doubt it in this case.

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beccabecca

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7 years ago

chemo generations

Hi, just wondering how you know what 'generation' of chemo you have. Eg I had 16 rounds of ACT - 4 AC & 12 T.
I believe this can effect your risk of recurrence.
Thanks in advance

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chemo generations

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