IS MY CHEMO WORKING
I was diagnosed November 2020 with locally advanced Ductal Carcinoma stage 3 grade 3 with with lymph node involvement in right breast. My treatment so far is neoadjuvant chemotherapy of which I ...
Forum Discussion
Hi @heathfield hang in there. As I said to @Kabee, whilst it makes sense to get going with the chemo straight away, I don’t know that anyone has really considered how psychologically hard that is for all of us who are anxiously waiting for our pathology results which give us all of those answers we so desperately want. Now, I am definitely no expert, but I have been through a very similar treatment schedule.
I did 4 x AC then 12 x taxol then I had 5 weeks break followed by a BMX. I was diagnosed December 2019, finished chemo May 2020, surgery June 2020 and completed recon December 2020. I knew from the start that for my own peace of mind, I wanted the BMX - so left breast had the ILC and the right breast was ok. My surgeon was excellent and totally supported my decision.
The chemo will be doing something, don’t worry about that! Now, everyone responds differently so please don’t worry yourself unnecessarily. I gather that after chemo and when they do the surgery, they are able to see what they call the ‘tumour bed’ and that can have a mix of cells in it. If there are any active cells, well, those suckers are getting cut out, so they will be gone anyway! The upside of having the surgery after chemo is that they can see how the tumour responded - like a report card and they can make some more decisions about your treatment plan. The chemo will be doing its job. I know it is not easy waiting, but just focus on one day at a time - that’s how I got through it. The chemo will be mopping up and my oncologist said it is like taking out an extra insurance policy.
You are also coming to the end of what I imagine felt like a perilous mountain crossing and here you are about to take the next step forward. Take care Mx
I did 4 x AC then 12 x taxol then I had 5 weeks break followed by a BMX. I was diagnosed December 2019, finished chemo May 2020, surgery June 2020 and completed recon December 2020. I knew from the start that for my own peace of mind, I wanted the BMX - so left breast had the ILC and the right breast was ok. My surgeon was excellent and totally supported my decision.
The chemo will be doing something, don’t worry about that! Now, everyone responds differently so please don’t worry yourself unnecessarily. I gather that after chemo and when they do the surgery, they are able to see what they call the ‘tumour bed’ and that can have a mix of cells in it. If there are any active cells, well, those suckers are getting cut out, so they will be gone anyway! The upside of having the surgery after chemo is that they can see how the tumour responded - like a report card and they can make some more decisions about your treatment plan. The chemo will be doing its job. I know it is not easy waiting, but just focus on one day at a time - that’s how I got through it. The chemo will be mopping up and my oncologist said it is like taking out an extra insurance policy.
You are also coming to the end of what I imagine felt like a perilous mountain crossing and here you are about to take the next step forward. Take care Mx