Would AC remove all evidence of cancer in 12 weeks?

I have a question about whether one might expect to see dead cancer cells in the tissue taken from a mastectomy after 4 rounds of AC (adromycin-cytaxin - not sure of my spelling here).

My wife was diagnosed with bc in May. She had a lumpectomy with sentinal node dissection. They found a 2cm tumor and 12 positive lymph nodes. The pathology on this surgery indicated there were not clear margins. She subsequently had a breast MRI that seemed to indicate other small cancers in that breast. She had 4 treatments of AC spaced 3 weeks apart. AC made her very sick and she has lost nearly all her hair. Last week she had a mastectomy. Surgeon said he didn't see anything unusual. The pathology report came back and said that there was no cancer nor was there any indication of necrosis - dead cancer. Of course we are estatic! Are test results such as these unusual? It was our understanding that we might see some cancer or dead cancer cells or some evidence that the cancer had been there. We want to know before we go back to talk with the oncologist. We are scheduled to return to see him next Wednesday and we want to try to determine if it is really necessary for her to continue the chemotherapy.
The plan was for her to take 4 treatments of taxotere and then tamoxofin (cancer was er positive) and also to consider radiation.

Lynn wrote << For what it's worth, I just finished 18 weeks of taxotere/carboplatin/herceptin (every 3 weeks). I lost some of my hair and developed acid reflux. >>

Hi Lynn, glad chemo went relatively well. I was wondering whether this was first chemo ever received or if this was for metastases? If the former, what type of b.c. did you have? If the latter, what other treatments did you have?
Hope you don't mind the questions--thanks in advance. Take care and wishing you all the best! {{{Hugs}}}

My wife has had both AC and taxotere during the last 3.5 years. AC is very nasty stuff. Taxotere is no picnic, but it's not very bad compared to AC. You might check Google

drugs to see what others have reported. - Tony

<< At one point the doctor was also talking about doing radiation afterwards even though he was recommending a mastectomy. Any thoughts on that?

Hi Richard, I had a bilateral mastectomy. Then I had chemo and also had radiation 'sandwiched' in between my chemo regimens (4 AC, 5 weeks of radiation, 4 taxanes along with weekly Herceptin--and the Herceptin continued for year). I would go with your dr's recommendations, although you might want to get a 2nd opinion. It further reduces the risk of local recurrence. Latest research suggests that it can be helpful for those who have had mastectomies.
Radiation was the easiest part, except that it was daily (and was not close to home). The first day I had it I felt like I had lay in the sun for half an hour. I did not get tired with the treatments. Two days after radiation was completed my husband and I left for a cruise to Alaska for our 25th anniversary. Toward the end I had some minor discomfort but memories of past sunburns that I had had were alot worse.
I had several options re. radiation. One was that I could go to a facility closer to home. I learned that the machines used there were not as good as the ones through our more distant health care facility, so I opted for that. I was given choice of times. Also, I was offered a furnished, single (or one bedroom) apt. to stay in for the entire treatment time at no charge. The center where I had radiation was 45 miles from home but I live in So. Cal where traffic can be a problem. (Since it was summer, traffic was lighter). If I had been working I probably would have done that; however, I work in education and had my radiation during the summer at a time when I was off. I could have treatments as early as 6:30 a.m. Then, another option I had was after driving to my health care facility (20 miles away), they provided a bus to the more distant treatment facility, although stopped at another pick up point for additional patients. I did that sometimes. It was fun--met alot of people.
The 'tradition' was that when one finished radiation, they would bring a treat(s) for the others on the bus (and the driver). We shared jokes and funny stories. There was even a couple of reunions.
I found the bus ride a bit tiring and was slightly 'bus-sick.' If I drove myself, which I did on those days that I had alternate plans either before or afterwards, I did not get tired.

If it's a choice between 12 weeks or so of sickness, versus the risk that you have not done everything recommended to "get rid" of the cancer, then I know which I would choose.

Whenever Janet, (my partner), talked with the nurses about feeling sick, they stressed that there were lots of different drugs which can be used to combat sickness and nausea.

Janet had taxotere and Carboplatin every 3 weeks for 18 weeks. She started feeling ill about 48 hours after the treatment, and the worst passed 2 days later.

Chemotherapy is pretty much a trial and error operation.
Some chemos work against some cancers. It sounds like you and your wife may have been lucky and hit a chemo that did the job straight out of the box. You should be ecstatic!

I'm not sure if I've responded already, but my partner has been through all of this, completing radiation in July.

I would suggest that radiation was a "walk in the park" compared to chemo and, whilst there may be some discomfort over time, that is all it seems to be.

I dont think there is any question over whether to take everything offered or suggested - just do it.

In terms of not showing any cancer, I think that the treatment is a bit like throwing enough mud at the wall. I think it is fact that they cannot see the smallest cancer cells, so it is always possible that some are lurking.

Lynn wrote << For what it's worth, I just finished 18 weeks of

I recently met someone on that same chemo regimen who was dx'd at stage III.
She said she would be getting Herceptin for the rest of her life. Initially, her insurance didn't cover the TCH since it hasn't been adopted as a standard.
Then she switched to a different insurance plan which is covering it. She is still fighting the money owed before the switch (somewhere around $50,000.00).
She is first person who I know who is getting Herceptin beyond a year that was not stage IV.
How long will you be on Herceptin, if you are still receiving it?