Not happy with Drs decision to stop treatment due to COVID

Hi

i know this is distressing for , we want everything that’s available . 

I finished treatment in August 2018 

I had 5 Dosetaxel as like you I was hospitalised on one occasion plus I had peripheral neuropathy. 
I was given 6 Herceptin, I have a minor heart condition . I believe the new standard may be 9. 

I was very upset about the Herceptin but no way would they give me more . 

I was told they got all the cancer with my mastectomy and chemo was just a mopping up med . 

I hope this eases your mind a little . I didn’t get tamoxifen as my cancer wasn’t hormone related . I am getting a    Bisphosphonate, they strengthen the bones and may help prevent metastasis., 

Please phone you’re breast care nurse or your consultants secretary with your questions , even if you email over you concerns . 

It’s a tough world just now , so ask all the questions you need answers for , the MacMillan helpline are brilliant too and very knowledgeable and will help where they can .

take care

Ruby Rose  

I'm not sure whether this will help at all. I have also had my treatment stopped but in my case it was after treatment 3 (of 6). My next treatment would have been the first docetaxol. To be honest I was dreading this second half of the treatment as I was very worried about the prospect of peripheral neuropathy  from the Docetaxol treatment. I am a crafter and the prospect of anything that stopped me doing that was a real worry. I talked it over with my oncologist and we agreed that when I  I started the Docetaxol we would set a very low bar for stopping it if it started affecting my hands. Well in the event I haven't actually had any of the docetaxol treatments BUT the thing I wanted to pass on to you was that my oncologist stressed that the docetaxol treatments were not all equal in their contribution. He reassured me that the treatments were front-loaded - i.e you get most of the benefit from the first, then a bit more from the second, and then a little bit more from the third. He also said that quite a high percentage of patients don't have the full treatments so I shouldn't worry about that if I should need to stop. So, if as seems likely , you have had most of the benefit of the chemo in the first 5 treatments I think I can understand why the doctor would want to protect you from he potential risk of another debilitating treatment when the risk from COVID is around- and in particular around in the hospital where you might end up being admitted.    

I appreciate how hard it is to adjust mentally to the end  of your treatment when you were geared up for another round. If you are still concerned could you ring and make a telephone appointment with your doctor and talk over the risks/benefits that informed the decision about your last chemo - I think many of these decisions are made on an individual basis so your pros/cons might be different from those of other ladies you got to know. And maybe talk through with you oncologist what happens next. At least with a telephone appointment your OH may be able to sit in the call with you too, Hope this helps a little. All my best wishes to you. xxx   

Hello,

Don't worry too much about missing the last Taxotere dose. You will discover that in the past particularly when the doses were less likely to be reduced and peripheral neuropathy frequently was quite severe, people were stopped at number 5. I was one of those. My oncologist told me that actually they don't really know what is the optimum  number of doses but six seems to have a reasonable effect. However he also said they could have chosen three or ten........and from his experience if you are unlucky enough to be  a person who is prone to recurrence.  ...it probably wouldn't  have matteted if you'd had 20 doses. So whilst six is ideal....five will probably be equally so.

It has worked for me so far......I will have been clear of cancer for five years in November.

I feel at the current time keeping you safe from the Covid19 while you have such low immunity is the best option. There will be time to review this when the lockdown is over. You have had your op. There is no cancer in the nodes so as my surgeon told me the day of my lumpectomy... .you no longer have breast cancer. The rest is just to make extra certain it doesn't come back.

I wish you well on your continued recovery. Stay safe.

Love Karen

Thank you all for taking the time to reply to my post.....I really really appreciate them. I think I needed to hear from you all to appreciate how lucky I have been to get so far in my treatment. I feel so out of control of my life and when something doesn't go to plan now it literally floors me...I cannot imagine how difficult it must be at this time for the Dr's to have to tell us that our treatment plans need to change to keep us as safe as possible.....stay safe & well......my thanks again x