Advice Needed

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darlad615
darlad615 Member Posts: 5
edited March 2017 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

Ive posted this on another site previously, so my apologies if youve already seen it.


My mother, 59, was diagnosed with stage 3 ER/PR+ HER- BC in January 2017. She underwent a lumpectomy and removal of several lymph nodes under her arm. It was discovered on a PET scan later one single lymph node that lit up (right where the bronchial tubes split to go into the lungs). A biopsy was performed on that node and it came back positive for the exact same type of BC, making her a Stage four. Her onc says that radiation cant be performed because of how close it is to her heart. She has gone through one round of taxotere and will have cytoxan in 2 weeks. Then they will do a CT scan to see if the node is shrinking before doing the next two treatments. My question is, does this sound like a reasonable treatment plan, or should we seek out a second opinion on having radiation on that single node? The onc says other than this BC, she is a picture of health. My mother is my best friend and I want to make sure we do everything we can for her. Ive been a total wreck for weeks and trying to remain strong and calm for her is getting harder and harder. Thanks for listening.

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  • cive
    cive Member Posts: 709
    edited March 2017

    As someone who was diagnosed with lung mets, this sounds reasonable to me.  I assume that once she has completed chemo, she will be put on an aromatase inhibitor.  But it never hurts to have a second opinion if that would put your mind more at ease.

    Your mother is lucky to have a supportive daughter like you.

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  • pajim
    pajim Member Posts: 2,785
    edited March 2017

    darla, you can always get a second opinion. And you should if you are at all nervous. That is. . .if your mother agrees. I'm not intending to preach to you but it is her life and her disease. She gets to make the choices.

    To me it seems like if they are declaring her stage IV but still giving her (A)CT they should give you an explanation as to why. If feels like they want to try and eradicate the cancer from the node in hopes that one of the aromatase inhibitors will keep progression away for a long time. BUT, if they haven't explained that to you someone should ask for the strategy and the reason behind the strategy.

    You should think long term on this disease. If radiation will damage your mother's heart and not affect the outcome, it's not a good idea. She should try to live as well as she can for as long as she can.

    As I write this it seems to me that you should indeed go for a second opinion at an NCI Cancer Center.

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