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I have a plan in place but still worried
I'm 15 wks pregnant and was diagnosed a week ago with breast cancer.
I met with my oncologist yesterday and she told me the plan they have for me.
They want to do surgery next friday-a full masectomy and remove all the nodes. Then I will have a 6 week break before starting chemo. I will have 4 chemo sessions and then a 2 week break and then I will have the baby. 2 weeks later I will be given more chemo, herceptin and rads...
I'm glad there is a plan in place and felt relieved yesterday but now I'm wondering if it is the right plan for me. I know a lot of people have treatment first to reduce the tumor and thats what I would be having if not pregnant. I would also be having herceptin straight away if not pregnant. I just want to get better for the sake of my other 2 babies (16 mths and almost 3)
In my head I havent ruled out a termination if it is the best way forward.. Am I putting myself at risk by not having the herceptin straight away?? And will the final outcome be the same if I wasnt pregnant (hopefully me being healthy and cancer free)
I forgot to say that this plan is pending the results of an MRI scan to check if the rest of me is clear, which they dont have yet
HI Kate,
I read your previous thread and now you have a really difficult set of decisions to make and I'm really sorry about that - not only do you have the shock of the diagnosis still but also the complex set of questions and challenges. Reading your post I wonder if the key question is will the final outcome be the same as if I wasn't pregnant? I guess none of us knows the final outcomes so you may have to focus your oncologist on "is it likely that the final outcome is the same...given all the unknowns...am I risking my health to follow this treatment plan and keeping the baby"
Its such a personal choice - I used to work as a counsellor in a termination clinic many years ago so happy if you want to PM me.
All I know about my treatment last year was that I knew it had to feel like the right thing - even tho my choices were pretty limited - I still had to feel I was doing what I felt was best for me...
Hmmm not sure this will have helped, sorry,
best wishes to you, Nicola
hey kate,
very hard on you hun, its hard enough without all the extra pressure of the pregnancy, and unfortuantly no one can advise you what to do,l
all i can say is make sure you get all the facts and options
i know for me i had to put myself first in order to get through this. . as i had to make sure i threw everythink at it, so i would have a future.
kaz xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kate, what a horrible situation to be in, I can only send virtual hugs, so I hope you have loved ones there who are giving real hugs. The reason for posting is to say that I was dx in September last year and still have not started Herceptin. I wasn't pregnant but was told the pattern of treatment was mx, chemo (6 x FEC), RADs and start tamoxifen, then Herceptin. I know every case is different and I didn't have all my nodes removed, but are you sure you'd be having herceptin straight away?
To my mind, and others are free to disagree, health questions apart, you'd be justified in considering a termination simply because a new baby and chemo followed by RADs and Herceptin may be too much to cope with.
Hi
NICE guidelines say you can either have herceptin with, or after Chemo. If it was with Chemo, it generally doesn't happen till the last two or three cycles. I have not heard of anyone who is given herceptin with their first chemos ( apart from secondaries). Also remember that with surgery you are having the cancer removed from your body. The Chemo is to mop up stray cells. I know there are some good reasons to have Chemo before, but personally I found it much easier psychologically once I knew it had been cut out of me.
However you are obviously uneasy about this so I def suggest more discussions with your team.
Your decision about your baby is completely your own. But whatever you decide, don't be rushed into a termination because of fear over herceptin. We all want things to go well with our treatment so it can be successful. But I am sure your team are completely committed to your survival and would not compromise that. If they believed a termination would help you survive, I hope they would be honest enough to tell you that. At that point you would be in a position to make a decision for yourself and your family. Please express your fears to them so you have some peace of mind over your decision.
Take care
Debx
Quick reply. Herceptin is not given at the same time as FEC, or anything that is in the "rubicin" family (the E of FEC is Epirubicin) because Epirubicin can (not DOES) affect heart function, and Herceptin can also (again not DOES) affect heart function, so it is much better for the epirubicin to get out of your system before having Herceptin.
Herceptin CAN be given at the same time as Docetaxel (Taxotere) and other taxanes, as they don't have the same effect on the heart, so if you have node involvement your treatment plan probably includes some FEC (or AC or EC, depending on where you are and your individual situation), and then Tax.
I was diagnosed in December, I'm currently in the middle of FEC so no Herceptin for me until that's finished, and I won't even start Herceptin until probably the end of July. But I'm fine with that.
Your plan will have been put together taking into account the state of your disease and also your personal circumstances. It might be that if you'd be due for a full mastectomy in any case, rather than chemo to reduce the size and then possible lumpectomy, which is often why they give chemo before surgery. They might feel you will recover better from the surgery now, rather than closer to the birth or even afterwards, which could be another reason to do surgery straight away. The 6 week delay before chemo is also so that you have time to recover physically from surgery, as chemo affects your healing so they want you to be well healed before starting chemo, and also give the baby longer to grow before chemo starts.
You might want to speak to the Helpline, they're very good and because they're uninvolved (but NOT uninterested) they may be able to help you get things laid out straight inside your head. You're at a very difficult time and any help you can get, you should make use of without feeling undeserving. You deserve it all.
Good luck
CM
x
Hi all.
Thanks so much for the replies. You all seem so well informed and its so good to have this website.
Well my operation has been cancelled because they want to do a liver biopsy and they want to wait untill they have results before they go ahead with the operation.
I am so angry and frustrated because when I had the liver ultrasound the doctor that did the ultrasound told me that everything looked fine. My consultant rang me today and said that the MRI showed something in my liver and while she is "quite confident" it is nothing serious, she needs to do a biopsy to be sure..
Biopsy is not untill next Wednesday, with results on Friday.. I cant believe it, I am sure it will be bad news. I just feel I cant be positive anymore.. its too difficult..
Hi,
So sorry to hear about your situation. I can confirm that herceptin isn't given with FEC. I was diagnosed and had surgery last August, but didn't start herceptin until December, after 3 FEC.
I hope that you have a good support network around you to help you through, whatever you decide. Wishing you a safe journey through. xx
Hi,
Will be thinking of you next week, and hoping the biopsy will be fine.
Dotty2x
hi kate
im so sorry you have had to join in hear. i wanted to share the fact i was pretty much the same as you although i was 12wks when i was told.your plan is just like mine i had masectomy first then few wks off then 4 or 5 chemo then gave birth at 34wks then few days off then more chemo and my first hepceptin. then radio and the rest of my hepceptin over the yr. my daughter was perfectly fine spend 10 days in hospital but was very good. i know the feeling of should you have termination for the sake of your others but im glad i didnt because if i wasnt meant to have her id of miscarried. my doc said i didnt have to terminate it was my choice i always said my health came first and they assured me it would. that was nearly 2 yrs ago now. i have a beautiful 16 month old baby and am now on the list for my recon and couldnt be happier. yes it was hard going but as long as you have support from family and friends you will get through it.
hope this helps feel free to get in touch if you wanna ask anything.
good luck kerry xx
Kate, I read on another thread that the suspicious liver was mets and I want to say I'm really sorry you have so much to deal with. How are you coping with the chemotherapy? What treatment plan do you have now?
Just wanted to say I'm thinking of you. xxxx Jane
Kate im so sorry its devastating enough this BC C*ap without all the added stress your are having to deal with
sending you lots of love & BIG hug hun
Mekala xxx