Thank you so very much for your helpful information. What you have told me is what i expected to hear, but I wanted to hear it from someone else rather than just speculating myself. I asked about alternative treatmente becuase the oncologist originally told us that he felt that Taxol was the only viable agent in my sister's case. Now, after two treatments, he says she is responding but not as well as he had expected. He is going to do a third treatment and then rerun all the scans to see if there had been any further expansion of the disease. From there he intends to change her treatment. I love my sister very much and have a difficult time watching her go through this. But I find honest answers combined with an understanding of what is happening easier to deal with than not knowing. Thank you again for the help.
Please look into IP6 with inositol on the net... I had 5cm ductal cancer started the ip6.. my pet scan is negative... Praise God!
"small cell" is not a term commonly used in reference to breast cancer. But the issue is certainty regarding the cell of origin; in other words, it's less important that the cells might be called small cells than it is to know from where they came. Breast cancer is breast cancer, wherever the cells show up; likewise, lung cancer is lung cancer, even if it's found in bones, etc. Taxol is effective against many cancers of breast origin, no matter some other characteristics. So it would be a reasonable choice if it's felt likely that the cancer arose in the breast.
Dear mathews52: You are describing a neuroendocrine tumor that just happens to be located in the breast. As you mention, it is spread throughout the body, making her disease stage 4. Treatment for this can include a number of drugs, either alone or in combination. Taxol, cisplatin and etoposide are drugs that show activity in this disease, so taxol is not an unreasonable choice. As long as it appears to be working, it is reasonable to continue. There are three reasons to stop therapy in this situation: 1. The drug stops working (switch to a new drug); 2. The toxicity is not tolerable (either switch drugs or stop treatment); 3. There is no evidence of disease. All scans are negative. (this is unlikely, but not impossible. even if this happens, the disease is likely to return). No one really knows how long a person will live. Part of this will depend on how well and how long the drug works. To attempt to answer your question, your sister will likely live months to years (but likely not 10 years).