Chemo or no?

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booklover74
booklover74 Member Posts: 4
edited May 2017 in Just Diagnosed

I was diagnosed in early January with DCIS, but during my lumpectomy the doctors found that the cancer cells had become invasive. I am going back into surgery on Friday to have a lymph node dissection. I have received some test results and since I am a worse case scenario kind of girl, I am trying to play out all options.

I am 42 yeras old. My oncotype score is 25. I had a 1 cm tumor removed with clean margins, grade 3. I was ER and PR+, but HER2 -.

Here is the kicker, I am getting married for the first time in October. I really don't want to get Chemo if the benefits are not significant. The side effects scare the crap out of me.

Any advice on this would be appreciated.



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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited February 2017

    Hi booklover74,

    Welcome to Breastcancer.org. We're so sorry you have to be here, but really glad you found us. You're sure to find our Community a valuable source of knowledge and support.

    While this is ultimately your decision, after getting more information from your doctor about your diagnosis, and discussing what that information means for your treatment, you're sure to get some excellent responses here.

    We hope this helps!

    --The Mods

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2017

    Hi booklover74. Your oncotype is in the intermediate zone. So I would look into getting the Mammaprint done. That will classify you as low or high risk. If you're low risk, then I would say chemo is still on the table, but less necessary. If you're high risk, then going through chemo would be more beneficial. BarredOwl, who I hope will see this thread, always has *excellent* advice and information for people trying to make sense of it all.

    Having said that, grade 3 means that the cells were dividing more quickly. Being HR positive is great, it means that hormonal therapy can keep recurrence rates low. Personally, my oncotype was 15, one positive lymph node. But cells were dividing slowly. For me, no chemo was the best choice. Hopefully the Mammaprint will shed some more light on your situation. Wishing you the best, and hoping that lymph node dissection comes back clear!

    Edited by Mods to reflect OP's username change.

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  • Horizons
    Horizons Member Posts: 6
    edited May 2017

    This is great advice. I was also just diagnosed. Stage 2b, 2.5cm tumor. ER,PR positive, Her2 negative. 2 postive lymphnodes. I had a mastectomy couple of weeks ago. Even though my OM strongly recommends chemotherapy, I asked for the oncotype test. I am waiting for the results. Should I also have asked for the mammaprint? How long do I have before they need to start treatment?

    Thank you so much! I don't have to describe how the last couple of months have been. I am so glad I found this community!

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