HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Taxotere vx. Adriamycin?? I start Friday

CPA · 07-24-2006, 05:36 PM

Donna,

There has been much discussion on several threads about this topic. It appears to be rather fluid as to the "best" combination of chemo drugs. New developments like herceptin and even tykerb make the choice even more difficult.

My wife went through the same dilema as you. Our main medical oncologist in central PA sent us to a consult at facility in Pittsburgh, PA. After a lot of discussion with the oncologist in Pgh, we decided to do an alternative adjuvant regimen of Carboplatin and Taxotere with Herceptin.

The biggest problem (one of them anyway) is that there are no long term survival numbers for the varrying chemo regimens when herceptin is added - at least for early stage adjuvant treatment. There are also no long term comparisons of cancer v. cardiac when known cardiac damaging drugs are used in adjuvant tx for early stage disease.

There is suggestion that some sub-groups (topo 2 for example) of cancer respond much better to a regimen with Adriamycin and Cytoxan while other cancers do not show better outcome. Unfortunately, the tests for the sub groups are not widely available.

My suggestion is to learn as much as possible and express your concerns to your oncologist. He/She should respect your wishes and be able to explain the various risks & rewards of the different options.

It is good to hear that you are trying to get a good mental picture. I am very proud of my wife throughout her treatments. She was mostly able to stay positive - everybody has an occasional bad day. We are over half way through the year of herceptin and we are nervously awaiting all of her scans in November.

Good luck and visit the boards often. I have learned a lot here and found many good resources.

07-24-2006, 05:36 PM	#4
CPA Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 93	Debate Donna, There has been much discussion on several threads about this topic. It appears to be rather fluid as to the "best" combination of chemo drugs. New developments like herceptin and even tykerb make the choice even more difficult. My wife went through the same dilema as you. Our main medical oncologist in central PA sent us to a consult at facility in Pittsburgh, PA. After a lot of discussion with the oncologist in Pgh, we decided to do an alternative adjuvant regimen of Carboplatin and Taxotere with Herceptin. The biggest problem (one of them anyway) is that there are no long term survival numbers for the varrying chemo regimens when herceptin is added - at least for early stage adjuvant treatment. There are also no long term comparisons of cancer v. cardiac when known cardiac damaging drugs are used in adjuvant tx for early stage disease. There is suggestion that some sub-groups (topo 2 for example) of cancer respond much better to a regimen with Adriamycin and Cytoxan while other cancers do not show better outcome. Unfortunately, the tests for the sub groups are not widely available. My suggestion is to learn as much as possible and express your concerns to your oncologist. He/She should respect your wishes and be able to explain the various risks & rewards of the different options. It is good to hear that you are trying to get a good mental picture. I am very proud of my wife throughout her treatments. She was mostly able to stay positive - everybody has an occasional bad day. We are over half way through the year of herceptin and we are nervously awaiting all of her scans in November. Good luck and visit the boards often. I have learned a lot here and found many good resources.