2nd opinion : Olopade / Genetic counseling

We are visiting Chicago later this week, and are considering a second opinion at Univ of Chicago. When we were making a decision about choosing a chemo regimen in July, the onc here, at Univ of Iowa, was recommending adriamycin/cytoxin. After finding that Funmi Olopade at Univ of Chicago was an authority on TNBC, we contacted her to see what chemo she would recommend. She very helpfully gave us a couple of options, one of which was Taxotere+Cytoxan, which we eventually chose, and neither of her options included adriamycin. We had the TC option confirmed by another email consult, so we chose that ...

Unfortunately we were told last week that Dr Olopade is not currently seeing new patients. So we're wondering whether it would be useful to see one of the other onc's in the dept there, who has less experience with TNBC. Does anyone have experience at Univ of Chicago?

We're also considering an appt at Univ of Chicago with a genetic counselor to talk about TNBC -- Have people found genetic counseling  helpful?


Eric for Christine
dx 5/23/08 IDC TNBC CK5/6+ basal-like?
Stage 1 Grade 3 1.2 cm clear margins
Lump+SNB Node 6/9/08
chemo Taxotere+ Cytoxan 4x3 wks 7/15/08-9/18/08
35 rads start ~10/13/08

Hi Eric, I'm going to give you a VERY shorthand response here, which in no way should be taken as valid medical advice. ;)

It seems almost unanimously on this board, those who have done chemo recently, have done a variation on TAC. Most commonly, either 6 treatments every three weeks of all three at once, or the AC first, with a series of T weekly afterward (this seems to be the latest trend?). It doesn't seem to me that there are many dissenting opinions for triple negatives.

Very best to you and your wife in navigating all of this.

Eric,

If Christine knows of any blood relatives with breast cancer or ovarian cancer, she should have genetic counseling. My mother had breast cancer twice (in her 70's 6 years apart) and her sister died of ovarian before I was born. I had the BRCA testing, but ended up negative to the gene thankfully. But it was good to understand the choics to consider and that is what the counselor helped with. She was a nurse specialist. I would think you could get counseling locally too.

-Carol