Still waiting on Onco score

It's tough Patty. I think all of us on this website would agree the waiting is brutal. How to cope? Try to stay as busy as you can. I remember when I was waiting for my score. It came back in 2 weeks. I started crying when I saw on my caller ID it was my BS' office calling. It was the first time I cried throughout the whole process. My doctor's nurse started the conversation with "good news....I immediately relaxed. My score was 11 so I dodged chemo. 8% chance of recurrence. I'm 5 years out last August.

My husband is a man of few words- I'm the polar opposite but I knew he cared and was scared too.

Who is doing your test? Genomic Labs did mine. I don't know if it's possible but if they take a lot longer see if whoever did the test will give you the results. I bet they will say your results were sent to your doctor and he will have to give them to you but you never know.,

Good luck. Try not to worry.

Diane

Thank you Diane and Wallan, it means so much to hear from people who actually KNOW how i feel. Just moments ago, i got the call, im a 9. You may have heard me shouting for joy. Second call came just moments after the first from radiology oncologist, mri monday to do the markings. So ready for the forward motion. Thank you thank you for your reply, it meant more than you'll ever know. Sending you both blue skies

My doctor scheduled a follow-up appointment for 3 weeks after she ordered the Oncotype DX test. Her nurse promised to call me the moment they received the score. She said that she would check the computer daily. Of course they did not call me and being the impatient person that I am, I called Genomic Health. They were very nice and gave me the date that they sent the report to my doctor, which was the week before. They would not give me the score which I totally understand. I phoned my doctor's office twice and emailed once, asking for the results. No response. Did not find out until my scheduled visit. Had myself convinced that the score was bad and they did not want to tell me.

I too am waiting on my Oncotype score. I had surgery 2 weeks ago, and I'm very nervous. I'm a newbie here as well, and I'm so glad to find this board. I have a great family and friends, but I have felt very alone the past 6 weeks. So glad people here understand.

And we are glad that you found us lols33! Keep us posted!

I used to work in a Hospital Lab and in that facility this is how an Oncotype test got requested.

First the MO contacts Genomic Labs and requests the test and provides their Lab with all your info, diagnosis and path results.

Next, Genomic Labs contacts your insurance company for approval.

Once approved then Genomic Labs contacts the pathology Lab where your specimen is being stored and requests a specimen be sent out to them for testing.

Specimen ships to Cali overnight.

Then hopefully same day or at least next day Genomic Labs starts testing your specimen.

Soooo...this is how it went down for me personally. My MO contacted Genomic Labs 4 days after my appt and requested the test. Now in her defense my appt was on a Thurs and then there was a weekend in between. So it took my insurance company from Monday thru Thurs to approve my test. Finally, Genomic Labs contacts my local hospital pathology Lab and requests the specimen for testing the next day....Friday. Like wow a week has already passed and no testing has even happened! Ugh! Hospital Lab ships my specimen out that same day. Specimen made it to Cali on Sat. Testing of course did not begin until Monday. So with all that said 10 days had passed before my specimen even made it to a Lab table. After that it issupposed to take another week. It's crazy long but I understand. Hope to hear soon. My ki67 was 25 so my MO is really leaning towards Chemo and I am hoping for a low score . I have researched like crazy about the ki67 and why she even feels 25 is high. The path report does say high in the ref range so maybe that is why. I know duh of me! 😀 I am so glad the Oncotype trumps the ki67 and fingers crossed for a result less than 18.

I know not everyone will have the same experience as mine but I am hoping that letting you know the actual process that the test request goes though will help explain why the test seems to take FOREVER!

Thoughts and prayers to everyone on this forum.

Take care

I feel your waiting pain but I was a bit luckier because my results came back in less than 2 weeks. In fact I got the call from my BS's office the day before my appointment with my ONC. Needless to say I was a nervous wreck too. Dodging chemo was riding on a low score. Mine did that - it was 11. Hope yours is low too.

Diane

To my layperson's knowledge, Foundation One's current tests are not used to inform the question of whether to add chemotherapy to endocrine therapy in patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early stage breast cancer, which is the focus of this thread.

http://foundationone.com/index.php

There are already a number of clinical trial publications that investigated the patient experience and perceptions of biomarker testing. If this is not a clinical trial or formal study, but simply an attempt to connect directly with patients ("Interview Opportunity"), I would have some concern that it could be a thinly-veiled attempt to promote their tests directly to patients who may lack familiarity with the current clinical use of such tests or the scope of clinical validation.

The commercial provider is not an unbiased source of information. So, rather than contact the commercial provider in the first instance, if patients have any interest in Foundation One testing or other types of tests, I would recommend that they first inquire about it with their Medical Oncologist, who has a duty of care to the patient and is familiar with the specific facts of their case.

BarredOwl

Hi TarheelMichelle:

I would tend to be less concerned with such patient contact in a situation where there are no pending treatment decisions.

Please note that I did not say or mean to suggest that patient opinions do not have value or importance.

I am aware of industry practice in conducting focus groups and one-on-one patient interviews. There are cases in which pharmaceutical companies contacted existing or former patients and caregivers, and gained valuable information from this outreach that led to improvements in products and patient care. So there are clearly pros in gathering information from patients. If properly conducted, the pros may outweigh the cons, but whether any particular effort is appropriate in my mind, depends on facts and context.

This particular situation and the way it was rolled out (totally without discrimination in the general announcement section above All Topics (as of this time, now removed), as well as in specific threads started by individual patients with pending decisions) did not sit well with me. This is my personal view, and I acknowledge that others may reasonably have a different view.

BarredOwl

[Edited to add: They indicated an interest in patient "experience" and "perceptions", yet it appears that they provided "general information." If that included information about their specific products, in my personal opinion, then they would be on the slippery slope towards marketing and advertising directly to individual patients with the assistance of this organization.]

ready2bedone, I had my surgery done a month before you and my pathology report was out the following week. The surgeon and then the oncologist called me one after the other the following week after surgery, then the oncologist told me about the Oncotype test which she said will take 3 weeks for the result which was my next appointment with her. I'm on my second phase of treatment which is chemo for 4 sessions every 3 weeks because my Onco score was intermediate. I know how you feel, but just try to relax. I just told myself, whatever it will be, I will have to accept. It comes with our diagnosis. I just think that our generation and living in US with advanced technology, we made it this far with what is being done for breast cancer compared to what it was 20 years ago. And there are more coming. I just think that Oncotype DX is a good one to know particularly on just having the necessary chemo and or not instead of just all breast cancer patients treated with the same chemo regimen even when it's not needed or necessary. Hang in there! Will be here if you have anything that comes up.