Help Please

[Sherryg683]

My good friend, who is a HER2 sister was recently diagnosed with a reoccurance of her cancer. She was originally diagnosed 3-1/2 years ago and had a mastectomy but the cancer has come back in the remaining breast tissue. We have the same Oncologist, he is putting her on 5FU, Eprubicin, and Cyclosphosimade for 3 months, then doing Taxol and Herceptin for 3 months. I am not familiar with the first 3 drugs used or side effects. Have any of you been on them and how did you tolerate them, what can be expected...tks..sherryg683

[Joe]

Sherry,
Where do you live? I would most certainly get a second opinion and even a third.

We have connections with many of the top oncologists and can provide you with contact info.

Regards
Joe

[caya]

Hi Sherry,

The acronym for the first 3 drugs is FEC - a commonly used chemo regime here in Canada and other commonwealth countries. I had 3 x FEC, then 3 X Taxotere. My oncologist(one of the tops in the country) here in Toronto has used this regime for Her2+ BC for years with great success.
The epirubicin will turn your pee red (the rubi). I had the usual side effects of other chemos - fatigue, nausea, weakness, some mouth sores etc. I also experienced tingling and muscle "jolts."
The Taxotere for me was worse - mouth sores, more intense muscle pain.

Hope this helps.

all the best
caya

[PinkGirl]

Hi Sherry
I had FAC which is pretty much the same as FEC. The A and the E are close relatives - both red devils.

My side effects were nausea, fatigue and mild mouth sores. I lost
all of my hair about 3 weeks after the first treatment.

[Jackie07]

Hi,

I had FEC during my first breast cancer treatment in 2003. Your friend must have had a sensative heart like mine (with mitral valve prolapse) to be given FEC.

Epirubison is bright yellow-orange color; I threw up every time if not adquately premeded (tylenol, benedryl...). I remember the 2nd time I had the infusion, I was having nausea even before the drug flew into my vein. So it is important that they do it right the first time and not wait till the person got sick.

My hair fell off after the 2nd, 3rd treatment. I was given some shots to help boost my white blood cell count. Those shots made my lower legs felt very, very heavy.

Hope this helps. And good luck to her on her treatment.

[Barbara2]

Those drugs are commonly given for treatment the first time around, but I'm not sure about this entire combo being used for metastasis. You didn't mention if she had been treated initially with a chemo cocktail of some sort...

I had 6 treatments of FEC; it was pretty tough.

[Sherryg683]

Barbara, she was originally treated with Adrimiacin/Cytoxin and Taxotere..Then had a year of Herceptin. She did not have radiation because she had a masectomy. Now 3-1/2 years later, it is back in the original area, 2 tumors, I guess in the remaining skin....sherryg683

[Sheila]

Sherry
If it is in the remaining skin on the original mastectomy side, it sounds as though it is skin mets....I would think they would use a single agent with herceptin or Tykerb to treat this, rather than a triple agent chemo, since it is a recurrence which is considered local rather than metastatic B/C.

[Sherryg683]

Let me correct myself, it is not on the skin but rather in what ever skin was left on the chest wall after masectomy....sherryg683

[PinkGirl]

Sherry,
The adriamycin and epirubicin are almost the same drug.

The cytoxan and cyclophosphamine are the same thing.