No response to chemo

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I guess I am clutching at straws now , but wondered if anyone else in this group was told their tumour has not responded to chemo and then gone on to be successfully treated .  Since I was told this yesterday I have been all over the place .   Sitting here planning to leave , wondering how long I have left .  I don’t have all the answers until I see the consultant on Thursday but after all I have gone through to be told nothing has changed is crushing . 

  • Hopefully my words will provide some hope. I was told my chemo not worked so they bought surgery forward. Scans showed chemo not effective but on removing tumour a week later it had shrunk by a 1/3. My Lymph nodes hadn’t responded at all though. After surgery I had radiation and oral chemo for 6 months and much to my oncologist surprise I am ned for now. So carry on fighting there is hope. Also look into changing diet , omega 3 research. 

  • Hello DC6 thank you for your response it certainly gives a different perspective on this .  So pleased that you are now cancer free Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions .   What type of chemo did you have initially and for how long ? I have done 3 cycles of EC and was due to start 12 weeks of PC on 21st December . Unfortunately I was admitted as an emergency to hospital with an unrelated condition which saw me in hospital all over Xmas and I have just had an operation to sort it out .  So this news was devastating for me as the treatments was already delayed .  Last chemo 7th December .   What stage and grade was your tumour and do you know how big it was ?    Please  don’t feel you have to answer . Xxx

  • My tumour was 8.5 and 3 lymph nodes I was grade 3 stage 3 

    I did 4 ec and 6 pax/carbo so 5 months of iv chemo. 
    feel free to ask any questions. I don’t mind. 
    I also add I feel really well now even though had a lot of treatment 

  • Thanks same grade and stage as me , tumour is 11.5 but they don’t think lymph nodes involved Did you have a check on the response  after the EC ?   I suspect they may want to try the pax/carbo or maybe they will do surgery . 
    I also feel rubbish and I don’t know if this is the cancer or still revive from operation which was only a week ago. 

    really great to hear you feel so well.   Did you have a full mastectomy? Xxx

  • I had a ct after ec and half way through pax/carbo 

    I chose to have a bilateral mastectomies lucky i Did as the other breast had dcis undiscovered from the scans 

  • they said my other breast not involved but were you offered the choice to have a double mastectomy, maybe I should consider this ? Did you have reconstruction or will you have ? Is this even offered ? Thankyou for sharing xxx

  • They won’t take both off without a psychiatrist saying you have good rationale. 
    in one way having a breast is safer because reaccurrance are monitored by mammograms I can’t have follow ups as have no breasts. They did offer me reconstruction but I declined so any reaccurrance isn’t hidden. This is a personal choice and it may feel different to you. It is very hard as so many decisions to take. 

  • I didn’t respond either way to 4 x EC and was told that I haven’t really responded to pac/ carbo. Now terrified. Surgery looming…

  • What are you doing with diet Dc6? Did you have any response to chemo?

  • They told me scans showed no response to chemo but o. Surgery my breast tumour had shrunk by over a 1/3 no response on lymph nodes. 
    I changed to being a vegetarian with no use of soy oil and I take omega 3 supplement