Diagnosed with TpIIa, NO, MO, Grade I, ER/PR+, Her2-

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Make sure your doctor requests the oncotpe dx test. While you are waiting for the results... Check out the 2011 NCCN treatment guidelines for breast cancer. Keep in mind age matters as well as whether or not you are pre or postmenapausal. Treatment protocols will also vary depending on how much risk vs benefit you are comfortable with. Also important in making decisions involves tour overall health.



Good luck.

If you are premenopausal and are scheduled to take tamoxifen you should discuss with your doctor the SOFT trial. That trial is ongoing and trying to determine if ovarian suppression with tamoxifen or an AI is as effective as chemo. Make sure to request the oncotype dx test.

Postmenapausal women are usually prescribed an AI. Fin ou why you doctor is recommending the tamoxifen. If you do a google search for NCCN 2011 guidelines breast cancer... You will be directed to the NCCN website. Register and then read about what they recommend for your type of bc. That should be a starting point of discussion with your doctor.



Btw... My mom is a retired ob/gyn nurse.... Who practiced at a Brooklyn hospital!

total abdominal hysterectomy

Rachel 1966..Antigua had a lumpectomy and for women under 70 who have lumpectomy the standard of care includes radiation. Since you had a mastectomy, your standard of care is different. As you and she can see, there are many therapies. Hope you are doing well.

Antigua, my onc told me that Grade 1 cancers generally do not respond well to chemo, and that if the cancer is also estrogen positive, then hormone therapy is the treatment of choice. Then again, my oncotype score was 12, and the results also told me that I'd derive zero benefit from chemo. So for me it's been surgery and tamoxifen.

Gee. My doctor prescribed the Tamoxifen to take after I completed radiation.  That's a good question.  I asked my doctor if I should take it earlier, but he said that was how he did it.  I think physicians might vary in when they will start a patient on Tamoxifen.  I assume if you get a side effect while doing two treatments together, you may not know which one is causing the side effect, so it might be best to do the treatments consecutively rather than concurrently.

Good luck with your radiation and Tamoxifen!  Hope you don't have any side effects.  I'm happy to report that I did well with both.

Suggestion about the radiation.  You might get tired after a few weeks of treatment.  I found that exercising....taking long walks....really kept the fatigue from happening.  I had little fatigue.  Drink a lot of fluids too!

Like with any other drug, side effects can manifest at any time. Since blood clots, especially in the legs are the most serious side effect, you should discuss with your doctor what those symptoms are and always be alert. Some women might experience side effects after a few days.... While some may never have any. I feel well and taking the tamoxifen hasn't affected my quality of life. Sometimes I get a mild flush, but that's about it. Considering my normal body temp is 97.... The flush actually feels good. Good luck, Rachel. Sounds like you will do well.

Antigua... The sooner you start.... The sooner you will finish! Good luck!

I found the rad techs, nurses and doctors to be very supportive.  I just had one small problem.  One of the loob supplies was burning my skin, DAY 1.  It seems that I was allergic to it.  Once they changed the loob...I was fine.  I also had a total of 30 something treatments.  It flew by.  I'm glad you're off to a good start!  Hang in there!