whats your risk of recurrence

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anamerty
anamerty Member Posts: 195

Ive read many different answers but my mo told me I had 40% chance then with chemo 20%.considering that I was stage 1 with a 1.8cm brca1 why would these odds be so high? Where could I find the research on it.this is what my mo said when I asked he said he got it from "the literature"

Comments

  • jcolford
    jcolford Member Posts: 120
    edited July 2013

    I don't know where you can find that information. My onc told me 50% chance of reoccurance after chemo. I too have been searching for specific information but haven't had any luck so far finding research to do with reoccurance for my diagnosis.

  • sheila63
    sheila63 Member Posts: 38
    edited July 2013

    My doctor said that I have a 30% of recurrence based on the size of the tumor, and a positive lymph node.  Unfortunately I live in fear of recurrence.

  • Titan
    Titan Member Posts: 2,956
    edited July 2013

    my onc told me 17%....after 4 years...going to cancermath...it is lower

  • gillyone
    gillyone Member Posts: 1,727
    edited July 2013

    There is no point worrying about it. You either recurr or you don't. There is nothing in between, the percentages are meaningless.

  • Luah
    Luah Member Posts: 1,541
    edited July 2013

    Sheila: Your stats are similar to mine, and to what I was told (50-60% without chemo, half that with chemo). But as gilly notes, percentage risk of recurrence is based on populations; for any one person the risk is really either 100% or 0%. All I can add is, it does get better with time, the fear subsides.

  • jcolford
    jcolford Member Posts: 120
    edited November 2013


    You are right gillyone, but had I known that my risks were high to begin with (before bc) I would have been more vigilant and may have found the lump before it spread to the lymph nodes, etc. I think my percentage is based on my specific tumor which was not detected during my annual exam in January, was over 2 cm in size when detected in June and doubled that again by surgery in August. That and the fact my family has been part of TNBC research that has been taking place in Canada since 1996. (I just wasn't aware of it until diagnosis).

  • edwards750
    edwards750 Member Posts: 3,761
    edited November 2013

    Its really hard not to fixate on the numbers and percentages. I had the Oncotype test done and my score came back 11 with a recurrence of 8@ with taking Tamoxifen for 5 years. I am stunned by the high percentages several of your doctors quoted. Good grief 50% After chemo? Jcolford - did you have the Oncotype test done? I cant imagine a physician just throwing out numbers knowing all of us live with the fear factor. Of course they don't know for sure but it is unnerving because of their expertise in the field. I never asked my doctors about recurrence but didn't have to because of the Oncotype test but of course all of us know there are no guarantees regardless of staging and percentages. Diane


  • jenjenl
    jenjenl Member Posts: 948
    edited November 2013


    edwards750 - our odds are much higher being triple negative...we can't take tamoxifen. I never asked what my % was - i don't want to know.

  • Patti777
    Patti777 Member Posts: 45
    edited November 2013

    Mine told me with Chemo a 70% chance it would not come back and I can increase that with diet and exercise


  • yellowdoglady
    yellowdoglady Member Posts: 349
    edited November 2013


    I was given a 29% chance of being alive and well in five years after surgery and before chemo and radiation. I came out of surgery a Stage IIb with 4 of 14 lymph nodes taken affected. And yet I am here alive and well five years later, and perhaps forever.


    I took chemo and radiation therapy to change out those odds. Don't be afraid to save your life. That inconvenience won't matter once it is over and you reclaim your life.

  • simplelife4real
    simplelife4real Member Posts: 563
    edited June 2014

    I had neoadjuvant therapy.  At the time of surgery, there was no sign of cancer in my breast, but I still had measurable cancer in two lymph nodes.  My MO said my chance of getting mets was between 10-15% and chance of a local recurrance was 5%.

  • belleb
    belleb Member Posts: 170
    edited July 2014

    I was told 30% chance of recurrence with no treatment, 15% with chemo and mastectomy.

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