What if I don't take Tamoxefin?

Oncotype score is used to determine whether or not chemo will be beneficial. It's calculation is based on the assumption that you are taking 5 years of tamoxifen. It is not used to determine usefullness of taking tamoxefin

Based on your oncotype test and staging your OC should be able to given you a recurrence score both with and without the use of tamoxifen. Then you can make an educated choice about whether or not you want to take/try again to take Tamoxifen. If you are postmenopausal you may want to try an aromatose inhibitor instead. To take or not take these drugs is a very hard decision and one I definitely wrestled with.

i refused to take it too. February 13,2016 was to be my 4 year cancer free anniversary. Found out today it's back. I still do not regret my 3 years of feeling good. I'll deal with this like I did last time. I have to make choices my family and I can live with.

Cryan--The decision about taking or not taking anti-hormonals depends on other factors besides your pathology and oncotype reports; age is certainly one of them, as well as general health and family status. Many of us who have declined the drug entirely are older women, for whom 3 more months of life beyond 88 is an insignificant benefit that comes at the risk of incurring other serious health problems (stroke, DVT, osteoporosis, glaucoma) that would make those 88 years + 3 months not worth it (of course, a DVT or a hip fracture might lead to an earlier death for us anyway). Needless to say, we older women are also past the child-rearing stage, and we have the time to go to the gym and take long brisk walks or run to stay fit and active.

As for Pessa's statement above about the Oncotype test--it is true that the test was designed to show whether chemo is needed (high range #), perhaps beneficial (midrange #) or totally uncalled for (low range #); it is also true that the results are based on doing tamoxifen for 5 years. But it is not true that it is useless for deciding about not taking Tamox. A med onc who levels with you should say that, experientially, without the anti-hormonal your risk factor has been shown to be about double--so an 8% risk with tamox becomes about 15% without it. The women I know in this area (with early sage bc and low range oncotype #s) were given that information; some happily chose to take it and some declined; some were intimidated and pressured into taking it, and others were told it is their decision entirely, not the doc's. You might want to consider getting a second opinion from another med onc.

As Labelle says, this is a difficult and very personal decision, and one that you must be comfortable with and have no regrets about, Like Cinderella and New-girl, above, I am happy with my decision (I'm now 3 years out), and will deal with a recurrence if it occurs as I dealt with the bc 3 years ago.

Good luck as you wrestle with this decision. .

It's important to keep in mind that the risk percentage that oncotype delivers is for distant recurrence, as in bones, lungs, liver, brain, not a tidy little lump somewhere else in your breast.