Invasive ductile carcinoma chemo/no chemo?

i am triple neg and developed diverticulitis from first chemo treatment. I decided to not continue with chemo because quality of life will be better without stomach issues. It is a gamble sine onc told me the cancer has a 30 percent chance of returing without chemo and 20 percent with chemo. For 10 percent i will hope that I am one of the 70 percent who doesn't get a recurrence and keeps a colon.

I am 66 and have pre existing intetinal issues.

relocted, i took ativan 3 x the night before seeing my onc because i was afraid of what he would say.  All along it had been that triple neg must have chemo but when i saw him he said it could kill me and he didn't want to kill me.  He said that taxotere was known to cause bowel perforation but i assumed he meant for people with pre existing problems.  Before my first treatment he had said "watch for diverticulitis" and sure enough it happened 4 days later.

When i left i felt like he was not too worried and i was relieved.  I do still have that fear because of what "they" say about triple neg but when i was trying to decide what to do before i was refused chemo i thought like you...it will come back or it won't.  I read a lot of stories about people who had full treatment and have recurrence.  

My onc wants me to take a nutrition course and said to eat low fat and to see him every 3 months.  He apologized to me for my bald head because a bald head is ok if you are actually benefiting.  I told him i didn't mind.

It,would be nice if there was more research but we are all so different that i don't think it can ever be determined exactly what is the right treatment unless you get chemo before surgery. 

One other thing is that i am 66 and something else might get me before mets. That influences the decision too.

I hope you can get an answer you are at peace with. It is all so hard.  Take care. Xo

I  also have ER+ bc and am post menapousal. I figured I didn't have any estrogen left in my body so why bother with the anti-hormonals. My doc explained that estrogen is still produced by the adrenal gland and as a by-product of body fat. That is one reason they want you to be at a healthy weight. Bottom line though is - that we always have some level of estrogen in our bodies. Enough evidence for me so I'm taking Arimidex to starve out any BC cells that remain after treatment. My doctor said of all the treatments I've had....the anti-hormonals are the most important and will do the most for keeping me cancer free.

I had stg ll grd lll very agressive. multiple comorbilities. you never know exactly what to choose....sometimes like wrenn you need to take a step and say no...and be at peace with whatever choice u make! I found somewhere where I could get single IORT  radiation. my body and pbms contraindicated multiple dose. so far im on chemo dose three...one more to go....no cake walk but it could be worse. if something occurs where Mo says no more...I did what I could! wrenn! I am confident in my heart you made the correct decision in your case. prayers and Huggs to you all....just make sure you are comfortable w your medical team. do research and kick ANYONE off your care you dont feel isn't listening! if u do proceed...make sure they do any doses SLOW!!! SE less....lots of fluids...ask for home IV fluids if  can drink enough or are taking other meds for other med conditions!

Today is my first day I'm beginning to research my cancer. I was DX dec 13 with IDC, my HER2 hasn't come back yet but if it comes back negative them I will be a triple negative. I just turned 50 on Dec 28th. I do know my tumor is at least 2 centimeters and one of my lymph node shined bright on my PET scan which we figured it would. Dr wants me to do chemo first to shrink the tumor to try for a lumpectomy. Having my port installed this Friday and a needle biopsy Friday afternoon on my lymph node to determine the stage.  Dr wanted to trace my cancer path with blue dye but that would mean chemo would be another 3 weeks due to needing to heal from the procedure! I am afraid to wait since my tumor has doubled in size since my biopsy. 

this is choice for you and your team, I will keep you and us all in my prayers Daily. msphil(idc,stage1, L mast, chemo and rads and 5 yrs on tamoxifen) Praise GOD 20 yr Survivor this yr.  chemo: adriamycin, cytoxin, and 5 fu, 7 wks of rads also.

Hi All,

My IDC is 3cm, ER+ and PR- and HR-. I had lumpectomy in Dec 2013. My oncotype score is 16. My Oncologist recommended for the radiation and hormone therapy. I am 40 years old with 9 years old and 6 years old kids at home. My Radiologist explained me the side effects and 10% chances of SE's last week and now I am afraid to go for radiation. I think mastectomy with hormone is the good approach to avoid radiation SE's. I have an appointment with my surgeon and radiologist next week to discuss and bring the option of mastectomy. From the beginning my surgeon is not recommending for mastectomy and I am looking forward what he will suggest to avoid radiation SE's.

Any advice on the radiation SE's? and also I am curious to understand standard's followed regarding mastectomy vs lumpectomy  in east coast. My Surgeon recommended lumpectomy for the reason as my tumor is less than 5 cms and doesn't involve lymp nodes(Infact one lymph node was involved with 1mm but negligible for the surgeon).

All advices are highly appreciated

Hardygirl...my BS recommended a lumpectomy because my tumor was small and he is all about saving the breast plus he contends the survival rate/change of recurrence is the same for a lumpectomy vs MX. Hard to believe but he said stray cancer cells can be around after a MX and if you have a lumpectomy and it doesn't "work" you can then have a MX. None of us are exactly the same except the BC DX. I had a lumpectomy and 33 RADS treatments. I had no real problems with the RADS - bit burning and fatigue about half way through the treatments however, there are ladies on this forum who had debilitating side effects from RADS ditto with chemo. Doctors inundate you with information and it is so overwhelming. I took my husband with me to take notes. Its difficult to absorb it all when you are still in the state of shock. I have IDC Stage II, Grade l. My sister has LDC and she opted for the MX. Her type of cancer tends to travel so MX are usually recommended for her type of cancer. We all tried to do our homework and research information on our particular cancer. Keep in mind the internet is general information so don't take it to heart. Diane

Hardygirl: I had no history of any cancer in my family (of course both of my parents were the only child). I have a sister five years older who has no medical problems. American Cancer Society says no radiation is needed with early stage cancer if you are 70 and above. I was 56 at diagnosis and was so petrified of having radiation, plus could not see myself driving back and forth from work for 33 tx. Went numerous visits to rad onx with many questions and he told me that I had a 30 percent chance of recurrence in my left breast if I didn't have radiation.  Then he added that I have a thirty percent chance of occurence in my right breast that has not had cancer yet. I had started going to a bc support group meeting in Nov. 2012. The ladies in the group have been going for years. In Dec of 2012 she got diagnosed again with BC opposite side and chose to have another mx. She had gone 16 years. She also did radiation just in case any cancer was lurking around the incision.Another lady in the group got a recurrence in the same breast but 16 years later. She had originally had a lumpectomy and rads but she was large busted and was able to have another lumpectomy and rads. Because of them I decided to have the radiation treatment. I had no problem with my skin at all. I looked tan but I also used the aloe gel 4 -6 times a day. The 31st treatment hit me fatigue wise. That was on a Wednesday. So I missed work returning to work on the following Tuesday. It took me 6 months to decide.I figured that the Arimedex would protect me and be enough. Then I worried about what if I had to stop the medication. It was a living hell for me being so confused whether to do rads or not. In the end I did what my doctors thought was best for my situation. So hopefully I will go 16 years before anything happens but it won't be in the left breast. Lol

Hi Annie, I'm also considering Arimidex and wondered how your therapy is going!