chemo question/poll

Hi all

I just wanted to get a feel for how your oncs are treating you for metastatic disease. It seems that there are two ways chemo is being given and I just wanted to get a feel for what most people are doing.

1) getting chemo all the time until it no longer works and then moving on to another chemo?
2) getting chemo until you are stable, then coming off until things are on the move again? If so, did your onc put you back on the same chemo or move to a different chemo?

I am really beat after almost 3 years on chemo but my onc is in the first category and says that if I stop my chemo and the cancer progresses, it might move really fast and not respond anymore to chemo.

I would be interested to hear your experiences.

[Isabelle]

I have switched oncs because of this problem. Some are so focused on destroying cancer in your body and do not understand the qualith of life aspect. They don's see you as a whole person.

Are you on Herceptin and another chemo. drug? If you are stable maybe you could just do Herceptin and drop the other one and see how you do. I am doing that. After a year of weekly Herceptin/navelbine I am stable so we are taking abreak from navelbine. Now, I only have to get treated with Herceptin every three weeks, a much easier schedule. If I need to, I will go back on the weekly navelbine, and switch when that no longer works.

For me this is a safe chemo break. I still get herceptin but it has no side effects. Unless you are having life threatening symptoms from the cancer, you deserve a break. Get a second opinion if necessary!

Feel better.
Isabelle

After a year of Navalbine/Herceptin I found myself in NED land. First , the Navalbine was stopped. Then, at the suggestion of my onc., the Herceptin was stopped. She gave me the choice to continue with herceptin but made it clear that she thought it would be good to give my body a break. If there was progression of the disease - we could always start chemo again.

It's your body and I think we're all pretty well informed because of sites like this. Do what you want or think would be best for you. I found the Navalbine exhausting!

Peggy in Florida

[Patty H]

Last spring my chemo landed me in the hospital. My Dr. said my scans were stable and gave me the summer off chemo. I did continue herceptin. Then after 3 months we did new scans and my lung met had started to grow so we went back on chemo. We started off with navelbine because of the gentle side effects, which I had already taken twice before. From his reaction, I'm assuming I will have breaks from chemo, anytime I have enough or am stable. There is no cure for stage 4 so quality of life is important. Patty H

Hi There!
My sister is being treated as per number two, though she has only had one short break in one and half years, but I think she's heading for another one soon. She was not put back on the same chemo following her break. I think it is good for the mind and body to take breaks periodically, especially when the disease is stable. If you're on Herceptin, and I assume you are, you can stay on Herceptin as a "safety net".

My oncologist feels chemo breaks are very important for quality of life. I have been fortunate to be on chemo for 4 months and off for 4 months. I enjoy the breaks and so doesn't my body. However, I only have skin mets and am told I am still at stage 111b and not stage 4. Dx. in 03/01 so far so good. We are all different and its what we are comfortable with. I some times stay on the Herceptin and some times stop it while off chemo. As for the chemo combo he says its easy to add a new drug or change to one the body doesn't recognize and stay with the one that works. He knows what works for me but its not always that easy especially if one has several met areas. It must be such a challenge for those docs. Hugs, Sandy

I have stage 4 BC, metasticized to my lung. I was on Navelbene and Herceptin weekly for a year. My tumor shrunk and was negligible. I went on Herceptin every three weeks for 6 months. Unfortunately my lung tumor came back. So I've just started back on weekly Navelbene and Herceptin again. I'm finding it harder to deal with this time. It's exhausting and has really upset my digestion. Don't know yet if it will work this time.

San

Thank you for asking this question. I am not (as yet) directly affected so have never asked the question, but have wondered often about it. The answer would be so dependent upon each person's cancer characteristics, their immune system response, any other diseases they already have, and upon what history of therapies they have already had. It is a very, very complicated question because obviously it goes so far outside the lines of being able to base the answer on data from any clinical trial.

A.A.

[Lolly]

I've been able to take breaks from chemo but take Herceptin either weekly or every three weeks, regardless of chemo. It has worked well for me, but I do agree with A.A. in that so much depends on the individual response to chemo in general, and the other variables.

I had a chemo break over Thanksgiving and Christmas after 18 months of non-stop chemicals. It helped to take a break as my immune system built back up and my blood counts went back to normal. During my break I had minimal tumor growth. I am now on Xeloda and have had no side effects. Quality of life is extremely important to my onc. (me too!) I just got back from Disneyworld and am going to Paris in April. I am stage IV with lung mets and feel great. I'll get scanned in a few weeks to see if the Xeloda is working. If it isn't, I'll probably go on Abraxane (I did not respond to Taxol).

Cindy

When you took your chemo break, did you go back to xeloda or did you switch to xeloda.

Thanks for the info,
Rosie