My Breakthrough
FEC (5-fluorouracil, epirubicin, cyclophosphamide)
If you have FEC, you'll have four to six cycles of treatment, and each cycle is given once every 3-4 weeks. That's a total of 12-24 weeks of treatment.
The treatment given can be either:
FEC includes epirubicin - one of a group of drugs called anthracyclines. There is evidence that chemotherapy which includes an anthracycline works better than CMF but anthracyclines tend to have more severe side effects.
To find out more about this treatment, try the CancerBACUP website.
- On days 1 and 8 of each four week cycle you'll have injections of epirubicin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). You'll also take a cyclophosphamide tablet each day for the first 14 days of the cycle.
- Alternatively, on day 1 of each three-week cycle you'll have injections of epirubicin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cyclophosphamide.
FEC includes epirubicin - one of a group of drugs called anthracyclines. There is evidence that chemotherapy which includes an anthracycline works better than CMF but anthracyclines tend to have more severe side effects.
Main side effects
- Nausea and vomiting
- Tiredness
- Mouth ulcers
- Diarrhoea
- Infections
- Complete loss of hair
- Itchy rash and nail changes
- Bladder irritation
- Loss of fertility
To find out more about this treatment, try the CancerBACUP website.
Also within "Treatment"
