Chemo scares me more than the disease

This is a summary of how the oncotype is used( from the BCO home pages, you can check there for the complete article if you want a more thorough explanation)......as you will read, it is not something that would be useful in your situation.

The Oncotype DX analyzes the activity of a group of genes that can affect how a cancer is likely to behave and respond to treatment. The Oncotype DX is used to help doctors figure out a woman’s risk of early-stage, estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer coming back (recurrence), as well as how likely she is to benefit from chemotherapy after breast cancer surgery

You may be a candidate for the Oncotype DX test if you’ve recently been diagnosed with stage I or II invasive breast cancer, the cancer is estrogen-receptor-positive, there is no cancer in your lymph nodes (lymph node-negative breast cancer), and you and your doctor are making decisions about chemotherapy.

Most early-stage (stage I or II), estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancers that haven’t spread to the lymph nodes are considered to be at low risk for recurrence. After surgery, hormonal therapies such as an aromatase inhibitor or tamoxifen are prescribed to reduce the risk that the cancer will come back in the future. Whether or not chemotherapy is also necessary has been an area of uncertainty for patients and their doctors.

If you’ve been diagnosed with early-stage, estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer, the Oncotype DX test can help you and your doctor make a more informed decision about whether or not you need chemotherapy. (Some research also suggests the test may help postmenopausal women with estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes make chemotherapy decisions.)

Wow, that is really a lot of toxins...and my MO gave me 3 options: 3 months, 6 months and 12 months treatment. He recommended 6 months, but I chose the 3 months one...he NEVER press me, and respects my wishes, although he asks me to give his recommendation some thoughts...you know you could asks for a more reasonable one...of course, it depends on your cancer factor....I wish us well in our journey as I shall be embarking on mine sometime next week or week after...(he even let me choose when to start: 4 to 6 weeks after lumpectomy surgery is normal. He said that would gives me time to recover from surgery.

Just so you are aware, both Herceptin and Perjeta are for HER2+ patients and both manufactured by ROCHE. I really think having both are just too much. Of course, it is just one patient's opnion. I am sure there are others who disagree with me. Like you, I just want to get it over and done with....and I am glad my MO allowed me to choose my 3 months plan. I have to do another 3 months of radiation daily (Mon - Fri) for less than 10 min each time, he said).

MammaPrint can only be used to analyze early-stage breast cancers. It can be used on cancers that are:

• stage I or stage II
• invasive
• smaller than 5 centimeters
• estrogen-receptor-positive or -negative 

And I quote from the BCO research section, "While the research done on the MammaPrint test so far is promising, more research is needed. The MammaPrint test isn’t included in the NCCN and ASCO treatment guidelines."

 Being ER/PR negative, HER2 positive, and stage III;  your doctors are absolutely correct in their treatment recommendations for you!!

I wouldn't be worrying so much about the "big D" it's more likely you'll be constipated and there are many ways to help that out. - the water drinking takes a little getting used to and it sounds like you are well on your way - I made it a rule during chemo that I didn't leave the house very early in the day just until I got used to whatever the "morning routine" was going to be - you're supposed to be resting anyway so try to relax - take all the meds they recommend.

I do better just listening I pick up more. We are all so different in that way. For me, there is acquiring to much info , that will lead me down the obsession path. I really like my doc which helps, and in my case, the knowledge I have accumulated is because of the years and years I have been going through this. This is going to be a bad analogy, so I apologize in advance..haha....but for me ( the knowledge part) I learned as I went along. Stored the info in my head that people gave me, but we are all so diff, just like our kids, and eventually you see the bigger picture and understand what you body Is going through, and what makes yours unique in comparison to others.

God bless and enjoy every moment you can hug your arms around

I too had a note pad (actually a steno pad) that I wrote questions down in leaving room between to write the answers. I also made a list of the questions and handed them to the Dr so he could answer them and combine them if the answers were similar for more than one of them.