To Chemo or Not

cat8888

Hi Gerrib:

I'm a 49 year-old with Stage 1, Grade 3 Breast Cancer. My tumor was 1.6 cm. I have had 2 lumpectomies due to my margin not being clear. It is still not clear, but I'm told close and the radiation oncologist feels they can just do radiation. I had no cancer in 2 lymph nodes removed. I am PR/ER positive and HER2 negative. But my ki67 is 70% (high risk) and my Glandular/Tubular Differentiation, Nuclear Pleomorphism and Mitotic Rate are all score 3, making me Grade 3 so the sells were very abnormal and aggressive in the tumor.

My Medical Oncologist is recommending Chemo based on the Grade 3 and Ki67 at 70%, and my age. I need to make a decision if I want to do the Chemo or just to Radiation and the hormone therapy.

I don't want to do Chemo for the same reasons you don't. My biggest concern is if I don't do chemotherapy is there a risk of having cancer move into the brain or bone and becoming Metastatic. I was told if I don't do chemotherapy I have a 25% chance of having cancer somewhere else in my body in the next 5 years. With this risk I have decided to move forward with the Chemotherapy.

You are correct that the Chemotherapy brings the risk of additional breast cancer to single digits, at least that's what I was told, and that alone would not be enough for me to do chemotherapy. But breast cancer can spread to the brain and bone and I hope they discussed that with you because it made my decision pretty clear.

I wish you the best and hope you can come to terms with a decision soon.

KBeee

radiation oncologists make decisions about radiation... Local control. Medical oncologists are the ones who makes decisions about chemo... Systemic control. Hopefully MO has ordered oncotype test. You can always get a second opinion. As always, it is ultimately your decision, and you have to take lots into account. Not easy decisions. Best wishes either way

Artista928

I must say. I can't imagine having to decide. Basically I was told if I don't do chemo and rads and hormone that I should expect it to come back. All my docs said that. So no thinking twice for me. If I had the stats to where it's on the fence I don't know what I would have done. Now that I've gone through chemo I know it wasn't as bad as I imagined. THey have good meds to help with side effects and it's over before you know it. After the first dose my level of fear went down because then I had an idea of what to expect. Best wishes to you gals who are deciding. Can't imagine the difficulty.

exercise_guru

Elle I feel a lot of shared empathy for your decision. I actually wanted to comment on your situation with your drains and healing. I had a BMX and healed slowly. The drains stayed in way to long. Then I went and got my port in/ had my first chemo and developed a wound in my chest that opened and pitted out. It was awful and I had to wait 6 more weeks to continue Chemo.

I am posting because they sent me to the wound center. I had the most wonderful doctor. He told me to start taking Juven twice a day and to increase my protein to 100 grams a day. It did make an incredible difference. I continued this until everything completely healed. Each week my wound healed considerably where before it just stagnated. I only suggest this because of your work pressures and difficulties.

Best Wishes

Lily55

Elle, I refused chemo and was given high odds of recurrence. It took me weeks to decide but one morning I woke up and knew it was not right for me. Statistics do not take in to account other changes we can make to reduce recurrence risk, like exercise, meditation and diet. There are also supplements proven to help prevent recurrence. I have no regrets, I did what was right for me at that time and would do the same again. There are no guarantees, friends who had chemo and were diagnosed same time as me with very similar cancers have died, I am still well.

I have struggled a lot with anti hormonals, letrozole and anastrozole both increased my cholesterol by 25% but Aromasin does not do so. Maybe you could ask to start with that? I am back on it after taking a long break due to awful side effects, and I take a natural anti inflammatory which does help with joint pain as I cannot take normal anti inflammatories.......

Your first loyalty is to you, and what is right for you. Don't cloud your decision making with claptrap about other people.....its your life, your body, and the cancer you have is individual to you.

Good luck

Sjacobs146

ElleD, I was terrified of chemo myself. Everyone I'd ever seen who was on chemo looked awful. I did the same regimen that they are proposing for you, and a year and a half out, I feel completely back to normal. I didn't even look bad during chemo. With my wig on, a lot of people didn't even realize that I'd lost my hair. I'm not saying that it's a picnic, but it's only three months of your life, and I only felt really bad the week immediately following the treatment. That said, if you have a recurrance, will you be able to live with yourself for not doing chemo? I knew I could not. Now if I have a recurrence, I have the comfort of knowing that I did everything I could to prevent it

Artista928

Lily: What natural anti inflammatory do you take? I've got joint pains and I'm on on hormonals yet.