My mother has a T2 (stage 2) breast cancer and her FISH test was positive. she is about to complete the "AC" chemotherapy in a few days. Now it's time to go for the "T".
Her doctor said, go for Taxol weekly dose but another doctor having the same qualifications says, she can go for 3 weekly Taxotere dose. Both medicines have the same results. So, we are confused!!!
Any help???
Taxol and Taxotere are very similar drugs although they have slightly different side effects. Doctors take into account a patient's medical history and the type of side effects she developed on earlier chemo when they decide which to use. Sometimes it just comes down to the drug the doctor has the most experience with. Your mother should ask the doctors to list the risks and benefits for her with each drug. She'll probably find it hard to decide after she hears the pros and cons, but maybe it will be apparent to her that she prefers one drug over the other. Of course, typical side effects and the ones that she actually experiences are not necessarily the same. The issue of every three weeks or every week also has pros and cons. If there were clear cut evidence that one of these drugs was always better than the other, you wouldn't be getting conflicting opinions.
My understanding is that Taxotere has worse side effects than Taxol, especially when the Taxol is given weekly. There are also some indications that Her2+ cancers respond better and recurrence is reduced with weekly Taxol. Personally, I'd go with weekly Taxol or Abraxane.
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