stage 2A with no chemo
Comments
-
My mom has cancer in 2 of her lymph nodes. She's estrogen and progesterone positive, and is grade I. She's at stage 2A, and hasn't been tested for mets yet. She had a lumpectomy on her 1.5 cm tumor, but needs to go back b/c of dirty margins. She doesn't want chemo at all, and is almost 100% sure she's just going to do radiation and hormone therapy. She doesn't think the benefit of chemo is high enough, and the side effects are too numerous. She knows there's a risk that it has spread to the rest of her body, but doesn't care. Do you know of anyone who's done this? With what success? Or, do you have any suggestions/comments about this? I don't know what to do. I want her to have chemo, but she won't...
-
I, to was Stage 2a, with a larger tumor and negative nodes. I did a lot of research and the statistics show that chemo for stage 1 and stage 2 breast cancer is questionable. Hormone therapy gives the same level of protection with far fewer and more bearable side effects. This is why I refused chemo. I was diagnosed in March of 2007, so I don't have a long time to report on.
Of course you want everything possible done for your mother. Talk with the oncologist, and have him/her print off the chart from Adjuvant Online that shows how much benefit there might be from various treatment choices. Have the onc go over the numbers with you. Find out what the recurrence rate is with lumpectomy and radiation, and compare that to the rate if hormone therapy or chemo is added. For my situation (neg nodes but higher grade tumor) after surgery & rads, 17% chance of death from cancer in 5 years.
With chemo alone, 10% chance of death.
With hormone therapy alone, 12% chance of death.
Both together 7% chance of death in 5 years.
For me the potential benefit from chemo was not worth the risks of side effects, because I am far more interested in quality of life than length of life.
That was my thinking. I am not recommending any course of treatment for your mother--that is her choice and she is the only person who can make the correct decision for her. I know how hard it is to watch a parent take a course of action that you don't agree with--that happened when my father was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Whatever your mother decides, talk with her about your feelings, and listen to what she says. You don't have to agree with her decision to support her and love her. And if you ever need to talk, let me know.
-
I was stage 2A 10 years ago with a 2.6cm tumor, ER+, PR+. Chemo only gave me a 4% survival advantage and to me it wasn't worth it. I did get my second opinion oncologist to admit that IF I were to push him up against the wall and twist his arm, he would have to admit that I would do just as well on Tamoxifen (without chemo). He didn't give that info up easily. As for the radiation.....wellllll....I had two lumps, one was determined to be cancerous and the other was deemed benign. I talked to 2 radiation oncologists and neither gave me a compelling reason to do radiation. Radiation is for local control. It is not systemic (chemo and hormone therapy (Tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors) are). One rad oncol. told me that I had to be at peace with my treatments and I certainly couldn't embrace left side radiation with possible damage to my heart and lungs (already had asthma), not to mention that radiation can cause future cancers. Fast forward 8 years from original diagnosis. Found a new primary in the same breast. I actually had 2 tumors again, one being my benign tumor which always had a lump there even after surgery. At any rate, this time I chose a mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. My tumors were smaller and less aggressive than my original which amazed everyone. It kind of begs the question as to whether or not my 'benign' tumor truly was benign the first time around. Sorry this is so long. Long story short, I beat myself up for not doing the radiation but have since met so many women who did rads and still had recurrences and new primaries that I am once more at peace with my decisions. After I got a grip, I also revisited my reasons for not doing radiation. Not having radiation helped my implant reconstruction come off without a hitch. I am doing Femara this time. My oncologist didn't recommend chemo as the % of benefit was lower than the first time. Best wishes to you and your mom. Please support her with whatever decisions she makes. Just be sure that they are informed decisions.
-
Hi jessicaelo,
Since this is an alternative sight here is an alternative answer to your Mom's cancer. I was diagnosed in March - 2007 with stage IV b/c, ER+, PR+, 8cm tumor. Other than 2 months treatment with Aromasin starting June thru July, I chose a comprehensive disease healing program by Dr. Richard Schulze. I have had no surgery, chemo or radiation. I HAVE had a complete lifestyle change. The results have been nothing short of amazing to this point. Please go to "Natural Healing" conversation on this board to read much of what I have done but more importantly go to Google video and type in "Schulze Save Your Life". There are 12 videos to view in this series that will expound on natural healing. I so agree with the others that it must be your Mom's decision and she must be at peace with it.....Our prayers will be with you.
Genesis
-
I was also diagnosed as a IIa. I have to admit that looking back I don't think I would have done things the same. I was scared, and told things like "not doing chemo will kill you,'' etc. So despite having clear margins and clear nodes, I went the chemo route, although I only did 5 of 6 rounds after learning the hit my kidneys and liver were taking. (That's a whole other story.)
I can certainly understand your fears for your mother & family as a whole. My thoughts are each persons cancer is different and they will choose to fight it on their own terms.
Blessings...
-
I did not do chemo either, and had the onco type test done too, which also suggested I have it. I did not have clear margins either. I did 7 weeks of radiation, a lumpectomy and had my ovaries removed, due to the ER, PR+. That was 2 years ago. The choice should be as knowledgeable as you can make it, and then be OK with it. There are people that do everything they're suppose to and then it comes back too. If they had the answer, we'd have the cure.
g
-
can you do the oncotype if you have positive nodes?
-
Dear Jessicae 10,
5 years ago this May, my beloved mother was diagnosed with her 2nd. primary cancer. This one was stage I DCIS. She had a lumpectomy and her sentinel nodes (3) removed. The nodes showed no evidence of spread. She did NO other therapy, at her age of the time (77), she didn't want the side effects of Tamoxifen. She has had a reoccurence and is now stage 4 with Mets to her bones. In hindsight, I would have liked to forego the surgery for the treatments now offered at www.lasemed.inc. She is considering going there now. Remember, cancer is not caused by a lack of chemo., radiation, or other drugs, but by imbalance in the body's systems. No matter what "treatment" you seek, there will always be reocurrence if the system is not put back into balance. There is so much information on the net about alternative treatments. If I had clinical cancer today, I would contact Bill Henderson at www.beatingcancergently.com. His first wife died of ovarian cancer, and he has spent the last 8 or more years searching out gentle methods to "put the system back in order". He is in his 70's now and still committed to helping people like you and me. Don't hesitate to mail me privately, I will be happy to speak with you and tell you our whole story. Blessings, Lisa
-
Jessica, There was just a new study released on the use of the Oncotype DX with positive nodes. I actually had micromets in my sentinel node and my oncologist used the results of the Oncotype anyhow. Here's the link:
Best wishes
BTW, I do use supplements, yoga and other mind-body techniques.
-
Thank you all for your help. My mom spoke to her surgeon today, and her surgeon convinced her to do chemo. Whether or not she actually will do it is now the issue (because hormone receptor positive patients benefit a lot less from chemo), but at least now she is okay with doing it if she has to. She will definitely do radiation and hormone therapy, though. Thanks for all your advice and support, ladies.
-
Rubytuesday,
that is interesting, I had the micro mets too....would you kindly elaborate on your score? Does it matter what type of tumor?
I'm afraid to go to the site and scare myself :-) but some encouragement would be nice, as in low scores with micro mets to one node.....
Jessica,
good luck to your mom, which chemo is she taking? There seem to be better results for CT than ACT if I am not mistaken.
God Bless
-
Calico, My two tumors were tubular and my Oncotype DX score came back 11 which equates to a 7% chance of recurrence over the next 10 years. I had .6mm micromets in my SN. HTH Best wishes!
-
Thanks Ruby,
that's high I think...or am I mistaken?
(seems to me so...I thought tubular is a good one?...same as the tubules in the tumor tissue, right? the less you have the higher the score?) Did you have axillary dissection? I forgot, sorry....
-
Before my surgery my surgeon talked with me at lenght about bc cells in the nodes. First, she said it's not really considered mets (I'm not sure I agree with that, but let it go). Second, she said micromets in a lymph node, unless there are a lot of them, are not considered as negative as larger numbers of cells. She told me that if the sentinel node had a few micromets she would not take any more nodes. She also said that nodes taken after any kind of needle biopsy may have micromets from the disruption of the tumor by the needle, and that is not considered true mets. I guess it's a lot more complicated that it would seem at first glance.
-
My surgeon said this too but put in the records that she strongly advised for axillary disection and I went against her advise. This is so not true, the onc said not to do disection and she was very happy with this, said also it would prevent LE since I am young and active...I don't understand and I am fretting.....oh well.
-
Calicio..I was just reading your signature about the statistics!! I hear you on that one! I left my 2nd onc. because ALL she did was get BIG books out and show me statistics. I don't understand them on a good day, let alone when they are talking about my life options!I just thought that was funny on there
g
-
calico, my mom will be getting cytoxan/taxotere. i've also read that CT is better than other kinds, so this is good news!
-
Calico, 11 is a very low score on the Oncotype DX and you're right that tubular is good. My surgeon said, "if you're going to have breast cancer, this is the kind you want".......funny guy!!! I did have AND and nothing else was found. My options were: radiate the entire auxillary....wasn't going to happen because of the increased risk of lymphedema; AND (auxillary node dissection)....which I canceled twice before I finally scheduled and went thru with OR do nothing....which wasn't recommended by anyone (except me.....LOL). My BS said anything less than 10 nodes wasn't considered a 'good sample'. I told her that I would get over her taking less than 10 but wouldn't get over her taking more. Amazingly, she took just 10 which plus my SN and my other 6 nodes taken 8 years earlier brings me screaming to 17 nodes taken. I love that they do biopsies that may pollute your nodes and the actual process of SNB can also cause nodes to have cancerous cells in them and then they freak out on you when it happens! Gotta love the cancer industry!!! I hope I answered your question. Best wishes!
-
Ruby,
you scared me
Little G,
with all the new meds, statistics hopefully are 'lies'...
Jessica,
good for your mom, hang in there, my best to her.
God Bless
-
Calico, Which part scared you? I REALLY didn't mean to scare anyone.
-
Hey Ruby, I'm just coming in on this here, but it is looking like you and I are of the same mind. Way back around 10 years ago, I couldn't find a doctor anywhere who would say I didn't need 8 weeks rads plus boost after lumpectomy for intermediate grade DCIS. I told my surgeon to take out as much as she wanted during the lumpectomy (I was a DD and figured I had some to spare). She took a good bit out and I had super great margins. Still, no doctor north or south would grant me a reprieve from rads.
Well to use your expression, fast forward to this past summer and I am dx'd with a small invasive in that radiated breast which gets a mastectomy and expanders, and a new low grade primary called a tubular in the other breast. After the first time with the DCIS, starting about 3 years from my rad treatment, I was getting these weird looking growths on the skin in my radiation field - that's the area between the tattoos. They looked just like angiosarcomas which are another risk of radiation. I would get them off the day after I found them. So there you go. Now, this time around I got presented with the choice of radiation for my low-grade which has questionable margins. I have just not done it. I had that side way reduced anyhow and figure there's less tissue in there to get cancer in and it's easier to mammo and check physically. Still, a nagging thought in the back of my head says...oh you scaredy cat, you shoulda done your rads! But I didn't and now I think it's too late anyway to get them. Maybe I made up my mind by just not making up my mind - you know? Still, your sticking with your gut feeling and seeing how it's worked out for you is making me feel better - just like my rads story is probably making you feel like you did the right thing back when. Your story encourages me and I thank you and wish you the best. Hanna
-
Hold on, I have another question Ruby, Did you end up getting a bi-lateral with recon? Or what happened? I'm still mulling over what I might do when this expander gets changed out for the implant. I haven't decided what to do with the other side.
-
Hanna, Thanks for sharing your story. Not sure if you read all of the posts, but my 2006 tumors were tubular. We're in a minority. I ended up having a unilateral mast with expander/implant reconstruction. I haven't had any problems with my other breast yet and wasn't ready to sacrifice it. HOWEVER, now that I've done the unilateral recon it is much less scarey and I would do it if I needed to. Best wishes!
-
Ruby,
it's the parts about "less than 10 nodes isn't a good sample" and the biopsy polluting the SNL....now, if I think positive and all that was "just" that in my node (one of two only), then I am happy....gotta be more positive
I do appreciate all your info. I did ask and I scare easy, so no worries -
Calico, I'd say that was no doubt your case and as for the 10....welll.....it's pretty much a random number that the medical community considers 'the gold standard' of care. I struggled A LOT with the lymph node dissection decision. In my initial surgery only one node was taken. If they had taken 2 or 3 and the other 1 or 2 had been negative, I wouldn't have had the additional surgery, I'd have just called it a day and went on with my life. Since they only had one and I couldn't be sure there weren't more, I FINALLY caved and had the surgery because I thought it would be foolish not to (although I had MANY internet friends who put forth good arguments for NOT having the AND). I had to do what I was comfortable with and it ended up being the surgery....and for me, that was a leap. My oncologist would have bet money that I wasn't going thru with it. You did what you thought was right for you with the information you had at the time and that's the best any of us can do!! Best wishes!
-
"You did what you thought was right for you with the information you had at the time and that's the best any of us can do!!"
amen, Rubytuesday
g
-
Be carful to recommend LASEMEDINC without knowing more about true results.
An experience about LASEMEDINC after L.I.E.S.H. treatments were administered by Dr. Carpenter.
or
or
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team