Mom On The Fence About Chemo

srobin

I apologize if I am not on the right page. My mom will be 79 in April. She was diagnosed in August 2019 with Breast Cancer for the second time. The first cancer was in 2016 and was hormone positive. She had a lumpectomy with radiation. She takes Taxol daily as a preventive. This new cancer diagnosis is Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

The new cancer is on the opposite side. She had a lumpectomy a few weeks ago and all of the lymph nodes they sent for biopsy were clear. She has had PET scans, MRI etc and there was no evidence that the cancer had spread anywhere. Due to her age she has concerns as well as the rest of the family about chemo. I think the regimen they are suggesting is T/C for 4 rounds once every 21 days. This will be followed by radiation.

Please tell us what she can likely expect. She is going back and forth and is really worried and scared about the side effects and how it will affect her quality of life. We know that this is a much more aggressive type of cancer and has a higher chance of recurrence. It is really hard to make the decision between chemo first then radiation or just radiation. .

I am primarily concerned about neuropathy, cognitive function (she is a little forgetful due to age already) anemia, infection all the usual stuff. She is pretty healthy except for the breast cancer. She has to decide within the next few days. My dad did chemo for lung cancer at 69 or 70 and did fairly well. He lived for about 10 years after his diagnosis but did end up with neuropathy problems.

Thanks for listening.

wrenn

I'm sorry this is happening to your mother and that you are all struggling with a very difficult decision. I am turning 73 in a couple of months and had surgery for triple negative grade 3 but no other treatment. I had first dose of chemo and because of fears of bowel perforation from the taxotere (I developed diverticulitis a few days after that dose) I was cut off.

I am doing fine 6 years later. I personally would not have chemo if it comes back but I know many people who do fine. I might agree to a different type of chemo and would do radiation if it would be a benefit.

If your mother's heath is good other than the cancer she may do fine. I think I would ask the oncologist to try to give odds both with and without chemo and what side effects are likely to be given her current state of health.

I hope she can come up with a solution she can feel comfortable with. Hoping for peace for you all. Take care.

Jackster51

So sorry to hear your mom is going through this. All I can add is my experience.. I was 47 at time of treatment and I had TC. I am 7 years out of chemo and have very bad neuropathy in my feet .. still can not wear closed toed shoes or stand for very long. It's painful. I also still feel like I have chemo brain.. my cognition definately decreased. Oh... and I did not get my hair back after Taxotere.. Sorry to sound like debbie downer on chemo, but that is my personal experience. I went thru treatment ok, but these side effects have yet to clear up 7 years later and have diminished my QOL. I hope your mom is able to come to a decision that she finds peace with.

powerthruit

Not sure if this helps, because I was diagnosed at 52, much younger than your mom this time, but I found the four rounds of TC very doable. I would do it again in a heartbeat if it came back years from now. I don’t have any lasting SEs

MinusTwo

I had chemo at 70. I got through it twice - two different sets, but like Wren, I wouldn't likely have more chemo if cancer comes back at 80. It's really a difficult decision and each person has calculate how to handle the risks of recurrence, and frankly the difference between quality of life and length of life.

However I think there are some questions here. It's unlikely your Mom takes Taxol every day. That's a heavy duty chemo. Is she ER/PR+ now? Is she HER2+? Most chemo treatments are either every week or every three weeks depending on the dose. Have you met with a medical oncologist yet? Have you met with a radiation oncologist yet? Make those appointments before you make a decision and discuss why she is hesitant. Does your Mom have a PCP or a GYN who she trusts to discuss this with?

Are you at a National Cancer Center? Sometimes that would make a difference in the recommendation. I'll keep you in my thoughts.

srobin

Thanks for your input . It was late when I wrote the post . My mom takes something every day to prefect a recurrence ofthe first cancer it’s a pill not Chemo . We have seen oncologist/radiation docs and were given statistics etc. If I understood it there was only about a 6% difference in survival rate based on her age .

Ingerp

It’s an AI your mom is on and I agree I’d think long and hard about chemo at her age. My treatment center uses a tumor board to discuss the options for patientsand I know patient age factors into the recommended treatment.