Treatment Yes or NO?

Why not Arimidex? For post menopausal women it has a better chance of  non-reoccurence and less side effects. I think with the positive nodes, you really have to do the radiation. Do you have friends/ church people/family who will help you out with the driving? (if not talk, to social worker connected with your clinic for advice on how to do this). I had to drive 100 miles each way for my radiation, so I got a calendar and when anyone asked me if there was anything they could do for me, I whipped it out and said, "Yes, you can drive me to radiation, what dates can you sign up for? " I never had to drive at all. Best of Luck! Ruth

Arimidex is newer and more expensive, but the patent is suppose to expire in June, so the cost should go down considerably. It's worth exploring, I think.

But lebrecht is node positive.

Hi, Anne ~ I'm not sure what kind of insurance Scan is, but with all of your complicating health issues, I would certainly want an opinion on what to do going forward from a comprehensive breast center such as the ones on this list:

http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/cancer_centers/map-cancer-centers.html

We are fortunate to live in California, where there are quite a few of these top-rated facilities.  I personally went to UCLA, although I live out in the desert, and am so happy I did.  The care there is exceptional.  Facilities like UCLA (and UCS and UC San Diego, etc.) see the most breast cancer patients, so will have the most experience dealing with women in your age group and with your pre-existing medical problems.  And perhaps they could also refer you to someone who could figure out the cause or your vertigo, which sounds miserable.  And are you not a candidate for cataract surgery, which is in most cases quite a simple procedure these days, although perhaps your diabetes is the complicating factor?  It just sounds like you might really benefit from being seen by a new medical team, and it might be worth asking how you can get a second opinion on your case.  I'm not entirely sure, but I believe there are laws to protect our right to do that, even with the most limited HMOs.      

Good luck to you, and please see what it would take to get an opinion from both a medical oncologist and radiation oncologist outside of your current medical group, and preferably at one of the facilities on that list.  Take care ~    Deanna

Your clinic should have a social worker to talk to and help you how to pay for your medications. Also the maker of Arimidex has some programs to help people pay for it that you should check out (you can find them online by googling arimidex, or else talk to the social worker and let him/her guide you through the process. My Best! Ruth

Although you do have some health problems, you are only 75 -- not so old. You hopefully have many good years ahead of you. Both the treatments you're considering, radiation and Tamoxifen, can be tried and then stopped if you have bad side effects. I think it would be worth at least starting radiation treatments and seeing how it goes. It's true there are some risks, but most women do very well, with fatigue and local discomfort as the major complaints. I tend to be sensitive to many things, but I went through 33 radiation treatments with almost no side effects. I really didn't feel fatigue and my skin was only moderately burned -- like a bad sunburn. If you started radiation and felt awful, you could simple stop at that point. By the way, my mother had radiation for breast cancer at age 74. She breezed through it with no problems (not even skin effects).

The same thing is true of Tamoxifen. Again, despite the fact that I'm usually sensitive to medications, I had almost no side effects from Tamoxifen. Like you, I was post-menopausal (though only 54). I did have some hot flashes, but I was having them already. I had no joint pains, which I did get on Femara (which is like Arimidex), which I took briefly several years later. I didn't develop cataracts while on Tamoxifen. As Agnes17 said, cataracts are easily removed (with out-patient surgery).

With your diagnosis of Stage 2 breast cancer and the fact that you had two positive lymph nodes, I would be as aggressive as your health allows in fighting the cancer. Your health problems will become much worse than they are now if the cancer metastasizes. In your place, I'd do everything possible to prevent that.