Did you have to have chemo?

ccdh

I am 30 and was diagnosed with breast cancer 6 weeks ago.

I had the lumpectomy and have been waiting on my oncotype results, which was explained to me to be that they will determine my course of action, If I have to have chemo, radiation and what the likely hood of it reaccuring is.

Well, I just got my results which my surgeon said my risk was low and my # is 14.

This whole time my body, my gut has been telling me I dont need chemo and since my risk is low it kinda felt real like I dont have to but the oncologist has not told me this. My appointment is on friday and now my mother whom is 66 just found out that she also has breast cancer, what are the chances in that happening..... Anyways I feel like now I probably will have to have chemo because it may be a genetic thing in my family, so I am freaking out.

I dont know what to expect, I dont wanna lose my hair, I dont want my children ( 11 & 8 ) to see me go through that and be sick. I would like to know what some people thought and expected and what it is like to have chemo....Does it hurt, is it a needle?

I just want to add that ever since I have found out I have been really positive, no negativity and even after just finding out about my mother I am remaining positive but today for some reason, maybe it just sunk in but I am starting to freak out.....Thanks

mzmiller99

ccdh - I'm so sorry that you are here, but so happy that your oncotype score is low.  That being said, do you know what your other scores are, like tumor grade and size, etc.?  That might make a difference in treatment. 

If it's going to increase your chances of seeing your children grow old, you would do the chemo, I bet.  Hair can be replaced with wigs, and regrown in time, and you go back to looking like you again.  It may be the most visible sign that you're sick, but in the scheme of things, you want to fight this, no matter how you look on the outside.  It's what you're doing on the inside that matters.

Your mom may have what my daughter calls "old lady" cancer, and while it is awful, it is not usually as fast growing or aggressive as the kind you young gals get.  The rate of bc in us old birds is high.  I suppose the older we are, the more chances we'll have bad cells mutating.

Many of the women on this site have gone through chemo with few problems.  There are many different types of chemo cocktails, so I guess it's up to you and your onco what would work best for you. You may want to look up treatments on this site and see what the options are.

  And, you don't know that you'll even have to worry about it at this point.  My daughters are 26 and 41, so can't imagine what your mom has been going through worrying about you.  And you can be a great source of strength for her now.

About the positive stuff, it has it's place, especially when talking to people who don't know much about bc.  However optimistic you want to be is fine, but don't berate yourself if you freak out!  That's the normal reaction and we've all done it...over and over.  You wouldn't be normal if you didn't.  What is the worst thing you've ever been through?  If you're like most of us, this is it!  There are several forums here for just ranting.  Feels kind of good.

I probably haven't been much help, someone else will have better stats for you, but please check back and let us know how you are and what happens on Friday.

 Big hugs and wishes for both you and your mom.

Susan

Beesie

ccdh,

My mother and I were both diagnosed at around the same time too, although in our case, she was diagnosed a few months before me.  I know of other cases too.  So it does happen.

I was very fortunate in that my cancer was very early stage and I didn't require chemo.  Your decision on whether or not to have chemo is one that only you can make -  I can't comment on that but I do want to comment on one thing that you said.  You mention that with the news of your mother's diagnosis, "I feel like now I probably will have to have chemo because it may be a genetic thing in my family".  From my understanding, even if your cancer is genetic (and it's still very possible that it's not), the need for chemo is based on the pathology of your cancer, not whether or not it's genetic.  Having a genetic cancer doesn't mean that you have a more aggressive cancer or that it is more dangerous.  In the case of genetic cancer, the risk that you inherit is the higher than average risk that you will get breast cancer.  But once you have it, treatment is determined based on the point at which it was found (the stage) and the aggressiveness of the cancer.  Your cancer was found early and based on the oncotype test, it does not appear aggressive and likely to recur - these are the facts of your cancer, whether it is genetic or not. 

If you and your oncologist feel that having chemo is the right thing for you to do, then do it.  But I'd suggest that you should at least talk to your oncologist before factoring your mother's diagnosis into this decision.  See what he or she says about whether this makes any difference at all.

otter

Beesie is right.  Even if your family turns out to have a genetic predisposition for BC (i.e., BRCA+), that would affect your risk of getting cancer--not the behavior of the cancer you already have.

So, a genetic predisposition for developing BC ought not to be used to determine whether or not you get chemo.  The purpose of chemo is to reduce the risk of distant recurrence (metastasis) of the BC you already had.  Chemo is used to kill cells that might have broken away and escaped to other organs of your body before that tumor in your breast could be removed by lumpectomy.  It sounds like the risk of a distant recurrence in your case is pretty low.

But, a genetic predisposition (if it turns out you have one) might affect what you want to do about your future risk of developing another (new) tumor, either in that same breast or in the other breast.  You are very young to have developed BC; and now your mom has it, too.  The possibility of genetic counseling and BRCA testing is something you should discuss with your surgeon or your onco.

otter 

flyrzfan

Otter said it best so I will only add...the only reason I "had" to do chemo was #1 the grade of my tumor/HER2 grade and #2 my oconotype score which was 49. If either of those had been different, I would not have done chemo. Regardless, if you have to do chemo it will be done either through a vein (with needles like they use to draw blood) or a port (used only if you have a long course, which from what you have said, seems unlikely). Chemo sucks, there is no getting around it...but it's "doable" as they say.

Best of luck to you, let us know how you make out!

Anonymous

ccdh, I am sorry that you and your mom are going thru this!  Believe it or not, I know of a couple other mother daughter with bc diagnosed in the same year - not as close as yours though.  I am 44 with kids 9 and 11.  I am the only one in my family to ever get cancer - we usually have heart disease!  My doctor made me take the genetic test as I am on the young side for breast cancer and I am 14 years older than you.  I was negative.  

I would think you should take the test - as Otter and some other posters mentioned, it may change the way your team addresses your care.  

As far as chemo, your oncotype is pretty low.  Mine was 23.  It was recommended that I do chemo - and it is not so bad.  I am only 5 days into it, but really feel pretty good - I know it's early.  In my case it really did make statistical sense to do chemo.  At this point, I am just relieved to have a plan and be started.  It is doable.  I take one chemo drug as a  daily pill and two as injections - thru the vain. The good thing about being young is that you are strong and healthy!  This too shall pass.  I will say it does make 2009 seem long!

Best of luck to you and please let us know how you and your mom are doing.

curlieqs

Because of your age, you should consider chemo. I do not know what grade/stage you are, but cancer at a younger age behaves more aggressive. I suppose the stage would make a difference, but I am not sure. I was stage II initially and they were pondering if I should have chemo or not at that time. That is when I did investigating. It did not sit right with me. I sought out 2nd opinion, and then some.  According to my 2nd opinion docs (saw 2 more....), Oncotypes are not reliable in our age groups, the studies were done in women 40+ yrs of age. When I was initially dx with cancer, my onco doc doc ran an oncotype score on me and my score was 18. I am now stage IV, so it was totally not reliable. I saw a doc at a University Hospital for a second opinion and she was the one who told me that the oncotyping never should have been done on me to begin with due to age. She said chemo no matter what (before dx with stage IV). I also spoke to my cousin who is an advanced practice nurse with a breast cancer group, and the docs she works with reviewed my case and agreed with the University doc. My onco doc apparently was unaware that women in their low 30's were not included in the study.

Chemo has side effects yes, but you do not want this beast back. May be prudent to take all the necessary precautions to prevent this from recurring. Just my advice..............just do your homework is all  

Best wishes

Poppy

There's no other way to put it, chemo sucks! BUT, it can be really doable with minimal side effects. I was one of the lucky ones whose medications did the trick and I never had nausea. I had 4 adriamycin/cytoxin then 4 taxol once every 2 weeks. The A/C was administered at the same time. One of them (can't remember which!) is red and has to be administered through a giant syringe by the nurse. The other is just in the IV drip. The taxol was IV drip and it took a couple hours to administer.

The hair loss was the biggest hurdle for me to deal with but I think b/c I got my wigs before my hair fell out, I was ready for that day when I hacked it off and clipped it down. It grows back very quickly - I finished at the end of October 2005 and the 2nd of Feb. 2006 I was at a birthday party w/ no wig for the first time. I had a very short "pixie" by then and it was pretty cute.

I wouldn't want to have to make a choice to do or not to do chemo. I probably would've chosen not to do it b/c of the fear of side effects. Knowing what I know now, I'd do it again if I had to. Good luck in making your decision. It's a tough one. xo

MaryJB

My Mother and I both had breast cancer.  I had mine just over two years ago I was 44 when diagnosed, my youngest child was 5.  Following surgery I did have chemo and like you when they advised me to have it I just about freaked out.  The thought of losing my hair was terrible but it happened and I got through it.  I was honest with my kids from the start and hid nothing from them they even came and saw me having chemo.   That way they weren't afraid and they accepted it.   Through chemo I did my best to keep things as normal as possible for the kids so that they incorporated my illness into their lives.  They lived with my treatment but I did not let it take over their lives.  When I lost my hair they were great and I just wore a bandana.  They had fun watching my hair grow back and kept rubbing my scalp.  My oldest girl would take weekly pictures of my head on her cell phone to mark the progress of my hair as it was growing back.  I now have a head of thick hair granted it's shorter than before but it looks fine.

I cried the first time I had chemo because I was so afraid and I had needle phobia.  However I came through it and you will too.  Having cancer has made me a stronger person and believe me when I had finshed treatment I had no idea what lay ahead.  No sooner had I started to recover when my husband got sick.  It turned out he had kidney cancer and within weeks he was dead,  It hasn't been easy but I survived and you will too.  I send you very best wishes and know that you will be able to cope if I can do it anyone can.

Hugs

Mary

Deb-from-Ohio

I'm currently going through chemo, I'm having neoadjuvant treatment, meaning chemo first, then hopefully a lumpectomy, then radiation.......I've been through 4 every other week treatments of A/C which did cause me to lose my hair, it wasn't fun but like Mary said, it's doable....AND after my 3rd treatment, the lump in my breast shrunk 90% so it does work!  I am now going to number 2 of 12 weekly treatments of Taxol tomorrow........Walk in the park compared to A/C but from what I hear, I will feel it after a few more treatments.........As for the needles, I had a port surgically placed on the left side of my chest under my collarbone, think of  the matrix here, when I go in for chemo, they merely insert the needle like thing into my port.......stings a little but not bad.

I would think that at your age, they would want you going through chemo.....anything to kill ALL the cancer cells........but then I'm not a doctor, but for the most part, all the younger ones I've spoken to have undergone chemo.........

Good luck and prayers hon

Deb

SoapMaker

I was diagnosed in 2002. Chemo saved my life. Had I NOT had it, I do not think I would be here, today. I had a poor pathology. My daughter was diagnosed last December. I had triple negative, she had triple negative. Docs did not do BRCA testing on me, but my daughter had it done and it showed that she did not inherit the cancer. Breast cancer is an epidemic. Hopefully you or your mom can get the testing, but just because you both have it does not necessarily mean that it is gene related. Many blessings to you and your mom.

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tnt

I just finished my chemo on 12-22  The ac every 2 weeks made me have a little nausea all the time and i was tried for 2 or 3 days but i still ran all over towne. The Taxol every 2 weeks i had very few problems with either ,a few pains in feet and legs but Dr will give you  pain pills.You do feel tired but i went to movies out to eat shopping etc it wasnt as bad as i thought

          Hang in there