36 year old mom trying to figure out chemo or no chemo

swimangel72

Worldwatcher - I'm sorry you have to deal with all this - if there are any doubts at all about your Her2 status - please ask your onc to have the tumor tested with a second FISH test at a different laboratory.

I Drim - nice to meet another person with the same kind of tumor - Grade 1 Her2+ tumors are very unusual - and reading that they dropped the ball on you for getting the FISH test makes me wonder - WHY does that happen?  In my case, it was my breast surgeon who dropped the ball and never got the FISH results. He was thorough in that he send out the tumor to a second independent laboratory to confirm that it really was cancer (he does that routinely before surgery) - and he even ordered the FISH report - but he never followed up on getting the results. Then my onc overlooked it for a long time - until he was sending me home with just a script for Arimidex - only then did he notice the tumor's equivacal info with regard to Her2......only then did he get the FISH results, with the shocking news that I needed chemo. I WAS fortunate that my onc took a second look at all the numbers - still I imagine there are MANY errors made in women's BC treatment due to overworked and rushing doctors. The thing that probably made him overlook the Her2 status was the "good news" that my tumor was only Stage 1 Grade 1. Lesson learned for all women - even Grade 1 tumors can be Her2+ and need chemo with Herceptin.

It's important to stay calm -  do NOT rush into surgery until you first have a complete understanding of the pathology of your tumor, especially including the Her2 status. If the first pathology report shows that the Her2 status is "equivacal" be sure to insist that it's sent out for a FISH test. If that means getting a 2nd or 3rd pathology report at a different lab, then do it. No one will advocate for you as strongly as you can for yourself - doctors can be sympathetic and skillful - but they are human and mistakes can be made - and MANY "balls" can be dropped! It's definitely a juggling act when you have BC!

Drim

swimangel - so well said. I completely agree. These breast cancer tumors are very complex. I often wonder how many cancers are undertreated because of incomplete pathology. Hopefully not too many. In my case, if the biopsy snippet wasn't a piece from the HER2+ part of the tumor I may not have been treated with herceptin and maybe not even chemo. Really scary thought.

allisontom911

I was 37 when diagnosed with a 6 week old baby. I was devastated. Needless to say I wanted to do everything in my power to beat this. Her+ is a very aggressive form of BC. I would not do AC and TH due to the heart effects A and the H have. I did TCH x6 every 3 weeks and then Herceptin for a year. I was very doable...not easy but doable. I had a colic baby that didn't sleep at all and got along fine. Even worked full-time.

It is hard when you have 3 doctors telling you different things but my final opinion was that whatever lessens my chance of a recurrence then I will do it. I didn't care even if it was only a few %. I want to be here to see my grandchildren.

allisontom911

I also meant to add please PM me if you want to chat..it is always nice to chat with other moms going thru the same thing.

rockwell_girl

I remember when I did research for chemo I found out TC was better than AC.  Try to stay away from the A if possible.  Sometimes they tru to go you the A because it's cheaper.  At 1st my doctor said AC until I did my research and than he said oh we would do TC if you need it.  Funny how they change there mind when you take papers in with you.