milestone 🌟
EC Complete: The First Phase Done
Four cycles of dose-dense EC are done. It’s a quiet but huge marker in the middle of treatment — the first phase completed, before moving on to weekly Taxol and continuing HER2 therapy.
EC Complete: The First Phase Done
On 16 January 2026, I finished EC — the first phase of chemotherapy.
It’s not the kind of milestone that comes with fireworks, but it matters. EC is the “heavy” part for a lot of people: dose-dense, intense, and relentless. Getting to the end of cycle 4 means the plan is holding.
What this milestone means
- One whole phase completed
- Proof of endurance (and of support systems working: meds, monitoring, logistics, childcare, everything)
- A psychological shift: we move from “every two weeks” to the long weekly stretch
What comes next
The next phase is weekly Taxol, and HER2-targeted therapy continues alongside it.
I’ll keep reminding myself of the point of all of this: we’re doing this up front, before surgery, to give the best possible chance of a complete response.