Stage 4 at diagnosis, successful chemo, now on femara & ibrance

[rlrastetter]

I was diagnosed with stage 4 invasive ductal carcinoma after my first mammogram in July 2016. It had spread to my liver & bones. After 3 rounds of Taxol and Gemzar I had a PET scan that revealed the bone mets had healed & liver was very much improved as well as shrinking in breast tumor that was originally 9cm. Finished 3 more rounds of Taxol & Gemzar & had a PET scan. Results showed no bone involvement & no active tumors in my liver. Breast tumor was shrunk more. I was also told that surgery wasn't off the table, but they wanted to see that everything was stable before that. I am now on Femara & Ibrance, but still working on getting the dosage right for Ibrance so I haven't been on that regularly yet.

Has anyone else gone through starting up with Ibrance & having counts drop?

[SusanDB]

I was on Ibrance, Letrozole, and Zometa but the mets increased in bones and liver. So glad to hear that it's working for you.

That was after 4 rounds of Cytoxin and Taxotere, then 6 weeks of radiation.

[Meadesmith]

The protocol for continuing treatment require nuetrephils at 1000. Or 1.0 I have struggled to keep my numbers up sometime. It is hard work. The most important things are all the things you would do to be super healthy, juicing, exercise, stress management, clean living, lol and manage to have and maintain a life. This is serious drug but worth the work for me. Oh, and watch out for the heavy duty exhaustion. Try to nap everyday. Do not get run down and ask for help...

[rlrastetter in reply to Meadesmith]

Thanks so much for the feedback. I was dropped down to the 100mg dose & my counts were ok after the first week so I am continuing with that & hoping it continues to stay steady. I exercise, juice & try to eat as clean as possible & still live life! I have been feeling really good & hoping I can stick with this dose!

[Tap321]

Ibrance will make your counts drop. My wbcs get around 1.9 and my oncologist is ok with that. ANC goes to 1.1. Am on 125 MG Ibrance for 13 months.

[Meadesmith in reply to Tap321]

my counts for anc goes to 700 800, then i woek like crazy to get them up on the rest week.

[Tap321]

Wow! Ibrance can be challenging with the bloodwork! I take different supplements, but not sure if anything helps or not. I keep trying to figure out what might make the counts better. You sound like you are reallying living healthy! I have just started including more kale in my life, and trying to add more whole, natural foods. Hopefully with 100 mg your counts will stay higher! Wishing you all the best!

[tchawkeye]

Hi, my name is Tammy

I just started on Ibrance 3 mo ago. I am at 75 mg and my levels have not gone down.

A lil history: stage 4 breast cancer, metastases to overys and bone. Had hysterectomy, been threw 5 different treatments. Diagnosed in 2014.