Triple positive first stage at 78

JovialDB

I am posting on behalf of my mother (78) who just got diagnosed with IDC in her left breast. Her tumour is around 1.8 cm. Her biopsy markers show she is ER 8/8, PR 8/8, ki67 10 to 15% and Her2 positive. I was unable to find a very clear treatment path for triple positive cancers. I would appreciate if anyone can share their experience or guidance.

She is scheduled for a PET CT next week and then matstectomy. They have not done a biopsy of the lymph nodes as she has had enlarged nodes for several years - pre cancer. The oncologist will decide the treatment after they analyse the tumor post surgery and they are sure about the lymph nodes (during surgery they will test sentinel nodes)

1redgirl

Part of the reason I only had surgery is because of my age. Surgery generally takes care of 70 percent of the cancer. However I also declined treatments except surgery when I was 40 as well because it was early stage and I felt other options were overkill. Cancer has yet to come back in that breast. I did get IDC this past year in my other breast along with DCIS. Grade 3. I had a mastectomy and lymph node dissection. 1 lymph node had cancer. They remove 12 which was first course. Of course even if lymph node was clear it is entirely possible cancer spread via my bloodstream. I have had no further treatment except a small surgery with a non cancerous lesion taken off mastectomy breast. My dermatologist feels that lesion was trauma related to mastectomy as she has seen that happen before.

I wanted quality of life with time remaining, not me limping along. I did drastically change my lifestyle by removing sugar and carbs and fasting and losing a lot of weight. I have posted on my journey a few times. I feel great and look great.

I spent a good deal of time at the cancer center when I did PT which I highly recommend. The older folks, of which there were many, looked horrid. The issue is they already had medical issues such as skin issues, weight issues, joint issues, chronic diseases etc. Maybe they were smokers and none looked like they could walk across the room. It was so bad I would wait in the car instead of in the reception area. Those taking radiation were burned to a crisp. I mean I had all I could do not to sob. I felt guilty. I looked great and felt I did not belong even though I had cancer too. One man really broke my heart. He talked with my husband and clearly felt life was terrible for him.

A friend, age 42, is opting for no surgery and no conventional treatment. I just heard from her today. All is going well as she is going the alternative direction. It has been a yr or so. Another close friend age, 70, has done nothing but conventional for the past 5 yrs and is in and out of treatments. She has 2 PET scans yearly. She looks pretty good, but is extremely weak. Another friend that got cancer with me 26 yrs ago, now age 70, did all the conventional stuff and now her cancer is back. She is back doing treatments.

My mom was 80 when she got melanoma which spread to her brain and lungs. She had been very healthy up to that point. We did radiation on her which I regret terribly. The medical team convinced us it would shrink her brain cancer. It was awful on her.

My best friend died of bc as well. She was in her 50s. She too did everything to stop the cancer, but she suffered greatly with chemo and radiation. She was such a trooper. She was gorgeous and in good stamina prior to diagnosis. That all changed after treatments. I will never get over it. Ever. The time she had left was fighting cancer at the expense of a quality of life. I was with her every day rooting her on.

Age matters. A person’s mitochondria is already diminished, thus the reasons for chronic diseases, and conventional treatments makes health much worse for possible gains.

edwards750

I did have conventional treatments. Lumpectomy, 33 radiation treatments and 5 years on Tamoxifen. I’m 7 years out last August.

You can make an argument for either decision. While you can cite cases that ended badly for those electing to go the conventional route I can do the same with those who chose the alternative methods or none at all.

It’s a crap shoot. There are no guarantees either way. QOL is important of course. Had I experienced any debilitating side effects with my meds I would have reconsidered continuing to take them. I also was aware of the possible long term effects of radiation but chose to take a chance. To me refusing treatment was like playing Russian roulette with my life.

It’s a personal decision and one that you should be absolutely sure of. No turning back or second guessing yourself or down the road wondering what if..

I was blessed because the radiation and Tamoxifen did not interfere with my everyday living. I know others were not so fortunate.

Diane

JovialDB

Many thanks for sharing your experience. Indeed, quality of life is a key issue. My mother is herself a retired doctor, so hopefully she will take a well considered decision

JovialDB

Thank you Diane. My wife went through this two years ago, so now with my mother it is deja Vu. My wife had a lumpectomy, did radiation and is on Tamoxifen. She handled all of this well. We were initially hoping that my mother would be able to follow the same routine. However, unlike my wife her biopsy has come out as triple positive. From what I was reading, I got the impression that chemotherapy with herceptin would be suggested. But if the course you took is also possible then it may be more tolerable

edwards750

I have to admit if chemo had been the treatment recommended for me I’m not sure I would have done it. The horror stores were hard to ignore.

However, I did come close to that being a reality. The Path report came back showing a micromet in my SN. My BS was surprised, I was stunned. He said it would get me chemo. Ugh. Fortunately, my MO made the decision to orderthe Oncotype test to see if it would be beneficial for me. She said women had been over treated for years and this test afforded them more info on my particular tumor. It’s not one size, fits all for treatment.

Luckily my score came back low@11. I dodged chemo. Btw it’s not the BS’ decision - it’s your Oncologist’s call.

I am the poster person for worrying so had my score been high and warranted chemo I might have been afraid not to. Nothing is worse than second guessing yourself.

Good luck!

Diane

NotVeryBrave

I'm much younger than your mother, but as triple positive with a 2.8 cm tumor - chemo with TCHP was recommended as the first treatment. It was very effective and NO cancer was found at the time of surgery.

I would advise pretty much everyone with a cancer diagnosis to see an oncologist before ANY treatment is decided upon. Things are changing all the time and medicine is becoming more personalized.