Is a treatment break after only 6 cycles of Folfiri a good idea?

2 replies
112 subscribers
670 views

Hi Everyone. Hope you are all doing well and staying strong.

I have stage 4 bowel cancer with spread to abdominal and subclavicular lymph nodes. I have been on Folfiri since the end of September (so 5 cycles in out of a planned 12 cycles) and have tolerated the treatment well so far. My last scan showed that the cancer in all the lymph nodes had responded well to the Folfiri and significantly reduced. My oncologist has just asked to see me again after cycle 6 and wants to discuss offering me a treatment break (not sure how long she is thinking the break might be).

Has anyone else been offered a treatment break so early on in their treatment. Whilst the idea of a break is nice, I am tolerating the treatment well and nervous that a break so early will affect the overall outcome.

I am only 49, two daughters in late teens so desperate to ensure the treatment keep me going for as long as possible to, so I can be around for some of their major milestones.

Any experience of tretment breaks would be most appreciated.

Many thanks

Star74 over 1 year ago

Hi Amanda16 ,

I would be interested to see what the reasoning behind the break is and for how long It may be to miss a cycle to give you a break over Christmas?! As you are tolerating chemo well and it's working I would be reluctant to have a longer break until after the planned 12 cycles. x

court over 1 year ago

Hi Amanda16
I definitely think you need a bit more information too as Star74 suggested .

My mum stopped at six each time but was then scheduled for surgery . There are a lot of tricky guidelines around chemotherapy like if you then have disease progression during your “break” would that prohibit stopping using this successful chemo again or would you go onto second line treatment .

What I have discovered , there are a lot of protocols in the mix and you want to have a firm grasp of that before making the decision. However as Star74 mentioned it could be just a few cycles to enjoy Christmas and that’s entirely different.

Can I just say what a fantastic response you are having . This is great news .

The other aspect you might want to consider is a second opinion. Always good to hear how other clinicians handle things .

If you ever want to investigate the protocol and guidelines you can have a look at the NICE guidelines for Stage 4 cancer . Or look at individual drugs and link in NHS and you will find how they are licensed and the way they can be used . Oncologist have to follow them there is not too big a margin for them .

My mum was able to use the same drug twice but had to have a six month break at that point in time to use it again and it was still classed as first line treatment.

You could also chat this through with our staff 0808 808 0000 , they would have the information.

Its a big system but after 14 years of navigating this with my mum I ask all the questions until we are satisfied that it is the correct pathway for mum and then we have the peace of mind it’s the right decision.

Big ramble but glad you are asking these questions so early on in your journey .

Responding to treatment is the best !

Court

Helpline Number 0808 808 0000