Pros and cons between scientific and natural remedies

thenewme

Hi Adrian,

First off, congratulations on being 6 months out!  Hopefully she's healing and feeling well!  The first 6 months can be rough!  However, I'm sincerely concerned.  Please understand that I don't say this to scare you, but only out of concern.  You haven't given a lot of information about your wife's situation, but from what you have said, she appears to have had a very aggressive cancer (based on her age, large tumor, triple negative status, etc), and so she is at significantly higher risk of recurrence than most, especially due to her minimal treatment received.  

As mentioned above, tumor markers are useful in some situations, but are notoriously inconsistent/inaccurate and nearly always used in addition to (not instead of) other more accurate monitoring methods.  Montly urine and stool sampling aren't standard for post-treatment BC patients, so it seems as if your wife may have some other issues she's being monitored for.  Is she having oncologist followups and imaging (PET/CT scanning, etc?)?  

As to the pregnancy issue, since she's triple negative, she may not be as susceptible to pregnancy hormonal fluctuation as other subtypes, but the post-treatment pregnancy issue is far from cut and dried.  There isn't any definite answer.  There is a lot of expert debate, so as with everything else, it boils down to individual circumstance, risk tolerance, and choice.  It seems that for TN, the mother's prognosis can be a bigger concern than the pregnancy issue itself.  TNs in general have a much higher risk of recurrence, especially in the first few years, so some experts recommend waiting until that high-risk period has passed. Others have different opinions.

Has your wife been tested for BRCA?  It's especially relevant for TN patients.  Does she have any Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry?  Has she consulted with an obstetrician specializing in high-risk pregnancy?  What is her oncologist's professional opinion about fertility options?  Has she sought second/third opinions?  Are her treatment providers communicating and working together as a coherent treatment team? Does she have other conditions or circumstances that may affect her decision to become pregnant?  Has she or will she be having any further BC treatment, including reconstruction surgeries, etc?  Have you and your wife and others who may be affected, discussed and agreed on the issues surrounding the decision?   

As you see, there are a lot of critical things to think about.   It's great that you're here asking our opinions, but please don't base your decisions on our opinions over those of trained medical professionals familiar with your wife and her individual considerations. 

We wish you the best of luck whatever you choose, and we're here to support you and your wife!  Please give her our best and let us know how she's doing!

MsBliss

Adrian, did you mean grade 3, not stage 3?

There is a big difference!

I had a triple negative IDC, stage 1, grade 3 (as almost all tnbc is)  as well as high grade DCIS.  I am now 28 months post two lumpectomies.  I did not do chemo or rads, because I had secondary health issues.  I am NED with good follow up.  I am admittedly nervous because of having tnbc and no conventional treatment, but I forget I even had cancer unless I come to these forums.  

Stage 3 is another story.  Please clarify what your wife's stats are so we can better help you.  I would think you could take advantage of chemo options and integrate alternative therapies with this.