Treatment modifications after suspected carboplatin reaction?
45F diagnosed with stage IIIB TNBC in February and on the Keynote 522 protocol since March. I've had a lot of ups and downs with this treatment, the first being an immediate reaction to paclitaxel for my first two infusions that resulted in both infusions being cut short. They switched me to Abraxane and all is going well for weeks until after my 8th weekly infusion last Friday. About 6 hours after my infusion, I became tired, a little achy, and noticed that my resting heart rate was pretty high. I figured I would take some Tylenol and just rest but 6 hours later I was not feeling better, HR was still high and now my temperature was flirting with the 100.5 mark that signals it's time to go to the ER. I'm extremely glad that I ended up going to the ER because I ended up spiking a 103 degree fever and being admitted to the hospital for 5 days for potential sepsis. After tons of blood work and antibiotics, no infection was found and it was proposed that it could be a delayed reaction to one of the chemos (but betting it's carboplatin).
I saw my oncologist this morning and he let me know that it was my choice, but that he was okay with closing the book on this part of the treatment and moving on to the AC portion of the chemo. He said 8 out of 12 infusions is still a really good amount of treatment and that the AC portion of the protocol is more important since they are stronger chemos. I am torn and wondering if anyone else has made this decision and has some advice?
TNBC is so insidious I just want to throw everything I can at it neo-adjuvantly, however, I also don't want to be putting myself at risk for another reaction and hospitalization. Has anyone tried desensitization for the carboplatin infusion? I've read here and there that it is not very successful. Has anyone been given the option to continue their Taxane chemo solo for the last few visits? Did anyone just move on to the AC portion, never look back and felt good about it?
I'd appreciate hearing any personal stories that can help inform my decision. TIA!