Stage 1-recurrance percentage % risk?

wrenn

After my double mastectomy I was told my recurrence rate was 30% without chemo and 20% with.

NancyHB

I am always troubled by recurrence statistics; those "calculators" don't work for me. On the surface I look really good - Stage 1 node-negative, ER+. But my four nodes had just enough cancer cells to fall under the micromet stage; my Onco score and Ki-67 are high; I'm barely ER+ (and PR-). According to my Oncotype I have a 28% chance of recurrence (I did not take Tamoxifen for longer than 5 months total). My doctors poo-poo my concerns about all the "other" stuff and focus solely on the Stage and node status..so sometimes i feel at a loss. Most days I'm okay without certainties; some days are just more frustrating than others

jessica749

A colleague recently asked me out of the blue, "Could your bc recur ever?" and i said, "YES! It can!" and she looked horrified. I reassured her odds were good it wouldn't, but hey, my odds were good I wouldn't get bc initially….

This is a scary story, but it is a very true story.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-becklun...

flowers2

I thought this was interesting information about reoccurrence rate. It's from a recent People Magazine interview with Dr. Funk from the Pink Lotus Breast Center: She was discussing Rita Wilson's stage one cancer. Dr. Funk said:

"Once you have breast cancer, if you do a mastectomy the recurrence rate in the skin or muscle or armpit lymph nodes is about 4 to 6 percent. That number can be cut in half by taking an anti-estrogen pill, but it requires some monitoring. If you think about it, every woman walking has a 12.5 percent chance of breast cancer. And so the recurrence after mastectomy is less than a third of everyone else of getting their first cancer."

 

angelia50

flowers 2, thanks for that prospective. i do try to keep those kinds of things in mind. I mean, everybody has a chance of getting something, but I guess the fact that I know that is has been in my body with the potential to have been in my bloodstream for so long, makes my odds seem greater. Why can't we ever be on the end of good odds, like winning the lottery or something?

angiem45

Im new here and a little overwhelmed by all the information.  I had a mammoprint done which came back low risk (doesnt give an actual score) so my mo did not recommend chemo.  I feel very lucky but always that nagging worry and i have barely started treatment.  start radiation today and have recieved 1 lupron shot so far ( i am not menopausal) and will then start aromasin after radiation.  That is the plan anyway.  I really dont know why my MO did the mammoprint as opposed to the oncotype but i know the mammoprint does not give an intermediate score just low or high risk for distant recurrance

Chloesmom

Small tumor. Low grade. BS said no need for chemo but then got oncotype back. MO said 17% chance of recrrance with AI without chemo. Just finished chemo and started AI and hoping it will bring me down to 12%.

She also said mortality not different with lumpectomy vs mastectomy, but lots of people who get lumpectomy may have local recurrence requiring mastectomy - same life expectancy, more surgery. This is a lot different than getting stage 4 we allworry about.

MsPharoah

Angiem45. Ask your MO why they chose Mammoprint. That is a fair question! To be honest, I would have preferred to have the Mammoprint since there isn't an intermediate score. For the large number of us who have Intermediate Oncotype DX scores, making treatment decisions is very difficult and often the Mammoprint is ordered to help make the final decision. In my case, chemo was recommended and I was not ambivalent about that decision, so I did not have the Mammoprint test done. The decisions we have to make are difficult and it is normal to struggle with this when things are so fresh/raw. Based on your diagnosis and test results, it seems to me that your MO has established a proper treatment plan for you. If you have any doubts, make sure that you get more information from your MO. And hop up on that radiation table and kill some cancer!!!!

Hugs, MsP

angiem45

thank you    my radiation oncologist looked up the results because we were waiting for the results to decide when to start radiation.  there was a graph which showed a 93 percent chance of no recurrance without chemo and a 98 percent chance with chemo which sounds pretty low to me.  my MO didnt discuss the graph with me but just said my risk was very low and not worth the side effects of chemo.  I did ask the MO nurse why he did the mammoprint test instead of the oncotype and she just said that was his preference.  Good test for me because i was tired of making decisions and it was nice to just be told what to do. 

Shellbeach7

Thank you Jessica for posting such an important and interesting article. I have often wondered about recurrence, long before I was diagnosed. I am new to this and find that reading and hearing about other's diagnosis/treatments and experiences is such a great support as well as helpful for information, even if everyone's experience is unique. I just had my surgery, post op tomorrow then wait to hear from Oncology for next course of treatment.

Thank you all for sharing your stories, I wish everyone a wonderful day!!!

Ygammyyet

keep exercising and eat a good diet, NO SUGAR OR PROCESSED FOODS!! Cancer feeds off sugar. There's really not much else you can do. I'm on arimidex and radiation next week. Radiation is my choice.