Anyone with an intermediate oncotype?

Kindly anyone explain about this score , I need a research on it.

Thanks 

Steff when my onco looked at all my path he said if my Ki67 was over 10% he would have recommended chemo.  Mine was under 10% so he did not recommend it.  I really do not know that much about the KI67.  Good luck with your onco appt.

Lovelillian I am waiting for my oncotype results and have been discussing the possibilties with my hubby. I am still not sure but with the middle average being 18 - 31 we were discussing 25 to be my cuttoff point to have chemo.. I'm hoping I don't have to make that decision .. will probably find out tomarrow.. At 24, I would probably not do it either..but would not miss any of my recheck appointments..

Lee and others,

What helped you make the decision not to have chemo? I'm really struggling.  My onco score was 19. Having chemo seems to be a choice--and I'm afraid I'm making the choice not to have it because I'm too afraid to lose my hair and to look and feel sick. It's a numbers game, I was told by one oncologist. Chemo will improve my chances of no recurrence by 3-4 percent...which also doesn't seem alot...but is not having chemo a responsible choice? It would really help to know how others made the choice. thanks...

Thank you, Sherry.  I spoke again with the oncologist today.  I am heading straight to radiation, and not doing chemo. The next phase of this roller coaster begins!

Shelbytroy, it is a personal choice, but like you my husband said any chance is too much, so I did the treatments. We didn't want to second guess ourselves later.

coraleliz,

The Oncoscores will at least give you more info about your tumors and how aggressive or hopefully not aggressive they are. I think more info is better.

I sent you a PM too.

Lee

My score was a 17 and I am grade 3.  My Onc is advising against chemo and said he would have even if the score had been a bit higher.  Who knows, there is a 2% chance chemo will help me and I will regret not having it and there is also an equal chance chemo will affect me adversely and I will regret going that route.  Its a tough call, isn't it?  Everyone has to decide for themselves.

Clyn:  I had an interesting discussion with my onco today.  I know we are both concerned about the grade 3 diagnosis.  He stated that the grade is a "peek" at your tumor.  It is like looking across the street through the window of their bedroom and saying "Boy, that room is a mess".  Then you get your onco score.  If it is low, it is like going across the street, entering their bedroom and saying "Hey, it wasn't as bad as I thought.  Now I have a lot more information to base my decision on."  Since I am on the high end of the low risk scale, my chance of a recurrence is 11% in the next 5 years.  That does include those with much larger tumors as well so it probably isn't that high for me.  But it also says that getting chemo probably won't change that percentage.  Once again, bleh.  Since this discussion is on intermediates, my onco also said he wouldn't have advised chemo unless I was in the high range.

 I had my ct simulation today for starting radiation.  Should start mid next week. 

Hi everyone! We r from Viet Nam. My mum 62  with diabetes and hypertension has 27 score - intermediate oncotype dx too. Dianososis 09/05/2011, 3cm, stage IIA, 0/3 nodes, ER+11.3, PR+6.5, HER2-. It is very difficult to make decision about chemo or not. 2 doctors recommend chemo, but I am afraid of the risk because she is not young and has diseases. Please give advice! Thanks a lot!

I was Stage I, triple positive: ER, PR, HER2 highly positive. No one ever offered me Oncotype DX. My original onc only wanted me to do radiation + Tamoxifen with no Herceptin. I concluded the man was either nuts or trying to make work for himself when I came back with metastases. All my other docs asked me why he didnt want to Rx Herceptin and my response has been - "I don't know. You would have to ask him about his rationale. " Went for a 2nd opinion to Sloan Kettering. I had done my homework and knew exactly what I wamted: Taxol + Herceptin. It was not known if Herceptin worked without chemo and since I was node negative and PET negative, I opted for the least offensive regimen.as I live alone and have no support system. I had also fallen on ice and broken my right wrist just before treatment. The MD at Sloan agreed that I could go with weekly therapies of Taxol + Herceptin x 12 weeks, followed by Herceptin alone for one year. Taking weekly chemo is much less stressful than taking dose dense treatments every 2-3 weeks. Dose dense is what most patients receive. It essentially means you are getting a double or triple dose every two to three weeks. Weekly dosing takes very little out of you. While it is true that the dose is cumulative, and at the end you may feel a little under the weather, it is certainly a lot more do able than dose dense. I used cold caps and did not lose my hair although it did thin minimally under the influence of a year's worth of Herceptin. I am now going on 3 years post diagnosis and no evidence of disease.

Nem- I saw you on another thread and then that you posted about the Oncotype question so popped in here to share. Mine was 23 and got the same advice, risk to benefit would not help me and chemo would have been over treating my case. I was 52 when I was diagnosed and my docs said you likely will live another 30 years so we like to do chemo when we think you really need it (certain types for sure get it like HER2 positive, node positive pathology). I had something like a 2-3% reduction with chemo. I had very similar pathology to you from the info you did share on your byline.

You are young and not sure if you have had children yet, but chemo can change things with fertility so best to get some advice from that direction too before you decide (maybe you have already.......)

You may want to ask your MO if no chemo then what? My guess is after rads, you are going to be put on tamoxifen (usually for pre-menopausal women vs. the AIs for post) for either five or ten years. That helps to keep the reoccurrence risk down.

Decisions with no clear cut guidelines make it so hard. Once you gather all the facts, I suggest to do a pros and cons of doing chemo vs. not doing it (side by side comparison). I had to make some similar decisions related to what type of rads I would do and this was what really helped me do it. The list that is longer usually is the winnner.

PM me if you want to talk more. Happy to help!