How long for oncotype DX?

Hi,

I had my surgery (bi-lat mast) on 7/7. My oncotype came back on 7/22....  so it does take some time.  My BS originally thought we wouldn't know until 7/28.   Said it often takes 3 weeks.

Can't hurt to call the doc & see how much longer you should expect to wait.  The waiting stinks, doesn't it?

Sending you good vibes for a low score!! 

Hugs, Julie

oldlady,

The lab that does the Oncotype testing says to expect a 2-week wait for results.  That's how long it can take after they get the samples from your doc or the pathologist.

In my case, it took 8 weeks to get the Oncotype results.  The first 2 weeks were spent waiting for my first oncologist to decide whether or not to do an Oncotype test.  (I had requested it.)  The next 2 weeks were spent waiting for the pathology lab to prepare the samples after the oncologist requested them.  During the third 2 weeks, the lab at Genomic Health determined that the samples were "inadequate" (they didn't contain enough tumor tissue), and sent a FAX to my first onco's office... where it sat for 5 days while his nurse was on vacation.

Once I raised a ruckus about all that, it took 2 additional weeks to prepare some new samples, send them to Genomic Health, have them tested, and receive the results.

I know how you feel.  The waiting is terrible.

otter 

Hi, Carrol: 

My surgeon also did not recommend an Oncotype because he felt my BC was not in the gray area.  A second opinion at UCSF also did not suggest an Oncotype. 

There had been suggestions on this forum that I should ask for one anyway; however, Oncotype is expensive and I feel that if 2 opinions did not recommend it, then it's okay by me not to have it done.

Best wishes, 

Hi, Susan: 

I was also told that for those NOT in the gray area, regardless of what the Oncotype score is, treatment would still be based on our pathology reports. One doc told me that you cannot 'hang your hat' on the score.  Seems to me, when it comes to cancer, there's nothing one can 'hang your hat' on.

Best wishes, 

Hi - I had a lumpectomy and SNB on 8/20, and I just spoke with someone at Genomics today. She was calling to give me the "your insurance may or may not cover this - do you want to proceed?" spiel. I DO want the test, because the oncologist I initially spoke with (prior to surgery) seemed inclined to be planning to base my need for chemo solely on size of tumor and spread to lymph nodes. I have heard that ILC, especially low-grade like mine, with very high estrogen and progesterone receptors, can often best be treated with systemic hormonal treatments, and that chemo isn't always effective. So I like the idea of someone looking at my TYPE of cancer and not just the SIZE. Customer service said they received the request on the 28th, and that they got my sample yesterday, so I should expect results in 10 to 14 days, barring any problems with the sample. My surgeon and the lab she works with routinely send samples for this test, so hopefully all will go well.

In any case, oldlady, you could call Genomics and ask customer service to tell you what the status of your sample is. I was surprised that mine had just gotten there - tomorrow is two weeks since my surgery. But it's good to know they have it...

Susan - I agree with you - all of this is an educated crapshoot. I have been forced to face the fact that I will die some day - I still don't have a clue when, but I may now know what will get me. Is this better or worse than being hit by a drunk driver and dying immediately? Who knows. For whatever reason, I got breast cancer when I had about a 1% chance of that happening. (Personally, I believe that there are many specific things that cause this that just haven't been identified.) In the meantime, in the midst of all of this bizarre uncertainty, all I can do is just try to find ways to identify what I think is the best path for me, and then just go with it and hope for the best. I try to be thankful that I found this when I did - hiding there outside the field of mammography - and pursued it and got it out. It's the freakiest, scariest thing I've ever dealt with, and it sucks, but there it is. What can you do?

Coleen 

Hi Kleenex,

Wow, that lady at Genomics must have been busy, as she called me yesterday also.  I got the same spiel, mentioning that insurance will only pay 80%, and I'll probably have to pay $700 or so.  Told her to go ahead with the test, as I'm sure I've already have reached my $3,000 ded. anyway.  (or least I'm close to it.)  My surgery was on the same day as yours.  However, they didn't order the test until my one week follow up.  The standard protocal is for me to have chemo, due to the 2.3 cm size (IDC) and grade two.  However, if I come in the gray area for this test, I may be part of that TailorX clinical trial.  

Hey, it would be great if some of the posters let us know how their scores came out!

Lisa  

Hi Moosan,

I'm visiting the oncologist tomrrow.  Hopefully I will find out more then!!  Good luck to you.

Also, Cat, congratulations on a score of ZERO!!!