NO Chemo

Hello Pine City Carol. Chemo is not fun, but it has been proven to reduce chance of recurrence. Dose dense chemo is over after 4 months, and you will get through it! It's not what I would choose to do if I didn't need to, but I am relatively young (48 at dx), now almost 49. I did the DD chemo, then radiation. The rads are to protect the rest of your breast from recurrence! After the treatments, then I chose to start with supplements, exercise and the naturopathic approach. But since I was er/pr+, I am taking arimidex and have been put into menopause with lupron shots.

I do not want this to come back!! I have a husband and three teens who still need me and I want to be here for at least another 40 years! The best chance of that is to do the treatments! The first shot is the best shot. Hit it hard and then try to move on.

That's just my opinion, but it's an educated opinion!

Ladies, I hope that I am not scaring you and do not intend to so forgive me if I do.
I absolutley believe that chemo is your best shot regardless of node involvement. My mother had micro invasive, neg node bc when she was diagnosed and they gave her a mast and told her she was 98% cured. They could not find it anywhere else in her body at the time. Less than two years later it was throughout her body and she was terminal. By the time they decided to do chemo it was to late. For these reasons I have decided to do chemo even though I only have 1 very small tumor and neg nodes. My thought is will I forgive myself later if it comes back and I didn't take chemo? A lot to think about.

Here are my thoughts on chemo decision- I had stage 1 IDC in 1998, mastectomy, 0+/21 nodes taken out, and no sign of cancer in bone scan or liver. Decided against chemo because of its harsh treatment. Felt great and lived life normal for 8 yrs. Now I have had 2 recurrences(one w ILC in the other breast, had lumpectomy/rads, and then came a lump in the mastectomy scar) in the past year, and the latest resulted in bone mets diagnosis. If I had to do it again, I would do the chemo the first time around, as now I have stage 4 incurable (so they say) cancer. But I still feel great, and live life normal for the time being. I am 50 and in good shape, and still have hope for getting the cancer stabilized and a long life. I don't beat myself up over the original decision, it felt right for me at the time.
But you never know whats around the next bend. Even those who have had chemo get recurrences.
Best wishes to you and strength in making your decision.

Singer,

I don't feel like we have enough information about your case to help you make a decision. You have a grade 3 cancer - that means it is the most aggressive type. It would help to know if you have ER or PR positive or negative, and what is the Her2- positive or negative? Even if you are Stage 1, and grade 3 - these other factors would help you to make a choice, because hormonally positive cancers are very treatable with anti-hormone drugs instead of chemo in lots of cases. This could be an option for you in addition to radiation.

Pine City Carol - your situation scares me even more because of a positve node. If your Onc is suggesting the strongest chemo possible, your other pathology information must support that recommendation.

Momob - I would also ask you the same questions I asked Singer.

Singer and Mobob and Bluejean91 (you are all node negative)- please consider Oncotype DX testing on your tumors. It may be the only way for you each individually to know your exact chance of recurrance, and the chances that chemo will or will not be effective for each of you. There is no guessing, or relying only on general statistics (stage, grade her2,etc) with this test. Your own DNA (tumor gene expression profile)will tell you whether your cancer is the type that will be hard to beat even with the most aggressive treatment, or will respond to anti-hormonal therapy and will not need chemo. For information about this testing - your surgeon needs to send in a sample of your tumor that is already at the lab-please see the website genomichealth.com

You can't have enough information when making this decision. You only have one chance to do it right the first time! Or be kicking yourself all the way to the grave! (As someone on this site has said)

Good luck!

Jackie

my DX was ILC with LCIS,stage 1 er+PR+ no nodes. tumor size was .90CM my onco said no chemo, i am on arimidex for the next 5 years. i was not feeling good about not being offered the chemo, so DR M. took it to the tumor board at my request, i think i offended her by asking her to do that. But she came back and said no chemo. SO at this point i am still working thru the idea, that i hope they are right and no chemo was truley a good thing....I will feel better as more time passes, it has only been 2 months since my surgery.

Hi cthomason,

I was dx on Sept. 15, 2004 at the age of 43. I had invasive IDC. One of my tumors was 6.5cm and the other was a lot smaller. I had chemo before my mastectomy to shrink the tumors. Which worked with Gods help. By the time I had the surgery , the tumors had shrank to nothing. They were gone!!! I have no history of bc in my family. My pet scan had shown some node involvement but after surgery, my surgeon said he stripped all tissue from under my arm and all he got was 2 nodes and they were both negative. Another blessing!!! I had 4 treatments of Taxol after surgery just in case any microscopic cells got loose in my body. Then I had 25 treatments of radiation. I finished all treatment on about the end of June. Its been 7 months since nochemo and this last week I was finally able to put away the wigs. My hair is pretty short but some women actually pay to have their hair done like mine.
Are you hormone positive or negative? I am triple negative meaning that my cancer was not driven by hormones.
I am now making my 3month check-up with my onc. I had one today and everything looks great. I am glad that I had the chemo. If not I would still be wondering if one tiny little microscopic cell got away. This kinda of puts my mind at ease. Post later and let us know what you decided.

Good luck and remember God Answers Prayers

Teresa44

Cheryl,
My cancer was also triple negative. Our type of cancer responds well to chemotherapy. I gave it a lot of thought because I really didn't want to go thru chemo, but I am now 8 months out of treatment (I had 4 rounds of A/C, every 3 weeks), and as I look back on it, it gives me great piece of mind that I've done everything I could to prevent a reoccurance. This type of cancer is very aggressive - mine seemed to pop up overnight, out of nowhere. I wish they had something better than chemo to treat us, but they don't. As I am further and further out of my treatment, I can look back and say I have no regrets on the decision to go thru chemo. Soul search when making your decision, it is a very personal one. I don't know your age, but I was 43 when diagonsed. My dad was 78 when diagnosed with prostrate cancer - he could not handle chemo.
Good luck,
Jess

Hello Singer,
You know each of us during our journeys have to make BIG decisions and choices. What is good for one, may not be good for another. Whether it's fear, or you don't believe, or you just don't want to make a decision, it is your decision to not make a decision. And I know I might get zapped from this board, but everyone has a right for what THEY want. I know I had to make some myself, and yes I went thru chemo for 6 months...if I had to do it again my decision would be no, but that is MY decision and my feelings. After the chemo, I did refuse the Taxol, as I knew it was not good for me, and I am happy with the choices I had made on that "for me". I did not do radiation, as I do not believe in it, but again that was MY decision,and I know and feel I did the right thing for me.

Everyone is different, and each of us leads our own trails behind us...I feel walking a path of the unknown or should I say (I can't go there) for what ever my feelings are about it, like you and your choices of not doing chemo, that was good for you, IF you feel good about it. I had 6 months to research what drs wanted me to do, and I am so glad I had that time, as I was rushed thru everything so fast and furious, I had no idea what I was up against in the beginning. I have written I believe a "bio" in the discussion group of bios or something like that and you may want to read what I had gone thru.

You hear good and bad stories of all this stuff, and each of us are so different, yet so much the same. Different cultures, backgrounds, histories etc, then we are all women fighting all we can or you may not want to fight at all. That is your progitive of what You want. Sometimes things work for some and sometimes they don't and I don't want to rain on anyones parade. But I do believe we all know our own blueprints and our own health history, and we are all smart women here, and we hear one thing and then another, that is why this board is here...what may be good for Jane Doe, may not be good for Mary Sue Jones, even though she may have the same type of BC with maybe other things that may be the same. We all beat at a different drum, and when you hear the beat, that sounds good and right for you, then you kind of research a bit more maybe then maybe go with that. Plus talking with your dr. may help.

We are here to encourage you to your own choices and we should respect each others feelings in their choices.

Believe me IF you read my so called " bio" you will understand a bit more about why I chose no more after chemo., And I am delighted, yet a bit scarred just like everyone else here.

May your path not be filled with stickers and the sun to shine on your backside while traveling your journey.

Ter

I was triple negative. Small tumor, less then half inch. No nodes. My onc said that if I were er/pr positive there would be no chemo -- just give me tamoxifen.

But since my tumor was er/pr negative he said the treatment is to give chemo because er neg tumors are more aggressive -- even when tumor is small.

An small er neg tumor is more apt (then a small er positive) to send out cancer scouts to prepare a new camp in the body. And the chemo would be to hopefully kill off those scouts and destroy their new camp.

No one has been cured with alternative treatments.

The women who refuse treatment and survive were just lucky. Many more women have died then survived after refusing chemo.

Cancer cells are not just 'things' they are an aggressive life form -- their will to survive is as powerful as ours. Perhaps more powerful then ours since they kill 4 women each hour of the day.

Yes I chose only chemo for 6 months. I had made a promise to my family that I would. This hard decision/choice I had to make was not easy. I have several other life threatening diseases attacking me for the past 5-10 years, and when BC struck, then again in bones. I had to make BIG decisions. I am very pleased with my decisions, as I know they were/are the right ones for me. Not everyone feels that way, and yes I am on a real journey. Seeking quality over quanity, and I know its right for me.

Do I know when "it" will strike? No, no one does,

Do I feel the pain, Yes, 24/7

Do I like it, no, just barely tolerating it.

Is there anything at this time that can calm the pain? NO I am allergic to ALL pain meds.

Do I sometimes feel sorry for myself? Of course I am human.

Am I scarred? Somewhat, but not really, as I know I have many murals that God is waiting for me to paint, as I have not been able to be creative for years.

Am I going to miss everyone? You betcha, and I thank all of you here who keeps me in touch with real people, who let me speak up, and do not degrade me for my decisons I have chosen.

Life and death are so close to one another...
What is important? The DASH...you ask what is the DASH? It is the dash that is inbetween the date of birth and date of death....That DASH represents that persons life, of the good and the bad, happy and sad, those they loved and cared for, it was their life...Make your dash a good one!

I LOVE what you said about the dash. My feeling is that life will always have the bad with the good and that if you love life you have to accept whatever combination your life gives you because it's the only life you have.

Hi again, actually I found the poem on "THE DASH" and I am going to post it in the Inspiration Part, thought that would be approperiate...it is by a Linda Ellis Copyright 1996.
Please check there for "THE DASH".