Hi
My name is Judy, I am currently undergoing 6 cycles of chemotherapy for breast cancer.
I have just had my 4th treatment. Treatment 3 was a really rough time for me with prolonged fatigue and some other nasty side effects. When I saw my oncologist on Thursday my hemoglobin count was the lowest it had been (98) but not too low to have my treatment. However I then said to her the best news would have been if she had said I only needed 4 treatments instead of 6 (my surgeon initially thought 4 to 6 treatments which is where I got the idea of 4 treatments). She then said to me that if I had another low count this cycle and found the fatigue unbearable we could consider stopping at 4 treatments.
Of course this has opened up a raft of questions for me so I'm looking to see if anyone else has done this or knows of anyone who has.
Obviously the biggest pro for me would mean that I start my recovery from the chemo 6 weeks earlier. A good thing.
The biggest cons that I can see are psychological ones - if my cancer returns, will I blame myself that I didn't go through with the 6 treatments, and will I beat myself up for 'cheating'??
My cancer was contained in the breast, no invasion into the blood vessels, no affected lymph nodes. Breast and lymph nodes were removed. The cancer is also triple negative ie not receptive to estrogen, progesterone or herceptin.
I will be getting my surgeon's opinion and also speaking with my breast care nurse but I'm also seeking any anecdotal evidence from this wider community.
If you've read this far I appreciate it!
Cheers
Judy
