Treatment plans for stage 2 grade 2 er/pr+ her2-

My family has a significant history with BC so I had long ago decided to have it cut out asap if I was affected. Thus after my positive biopsy I went straight to a surgeon. Based on the sonogram, it appeared that identical small tumors at the back of each breast. They were small I nor my doctor could feel them. Therefore we decided to do lumpectomy. The testing done with the lumpectomy showed that I also had tumors in 2 nodes on my right side. The tumors in my breast were 1.6 cm but both of the node tumors were over 2 cms. I was told that chemo was necessary. I did not know about oncotype test at that time. After 6 months of chemo I decided to have BMX. MO was considering need for radiation. Radiation doctors said that I could skip radiation because tumors were smaller than 3 cms, margins were clear and I was doing BMX.

I am currently going thru chemo first , I am stage 2  grade 2 er/pr+ and her- as well

however my tumor is invasive and into the pectoral muscle   and was positive in a lymph node and would be a difficult surgery

 so my drs felt it was neccessay to do chemo first to shrink it and hopefully stop from spreading. I will do round 3 tomorrow

 I am doing 4 rounds of A/C then 4 rounds of Taxol

When my final pathology came back my mass was 5 cm. Did mx on left side. Due to OncoDX score of 17 oncologist said benefit of chemo would outweigh risks for me so no chemo. Did 5 years on Tamoxifen and now on Femara for another 5 which I've done 8 months down at this point.

I was diagnosed November 2013. Stage 2 (2.1 cm), grade 2, Oncotype 11 - so no chemo. Lumpectomy with clear margins, clear lymph nodes, no LVI. Canadian protocol for radiation - 16 whole breast, 4 boosts to tumor bed.

Rumor - did you have the Oncotype test done? Based on your stats alone, not sure why chemo is a given unless you are choosing to do it - or had a high Oncotype score Oncotype would tell you what benefit you would get from doing chemo.

hi runor,

I am not in Canada, I had my treatment at Sloan Kettering in NYC. My RO thought I was a good candidate for what they call the Canadian protocol. It involves fewer treatments with a higher dose of radiation per treatment. I tolerated it very well - just skin looking sunburned for a while but it recovered very well.

I don't think the size of your tumor alone is a guarantee of chemo (ours were very close in size). At least that's not what I have been told. Many more factors come into play including your age at diagnosis, proliferation rate, aggressiveness of your particular tumor, location of the tumor, presence of LVI, node involvement,etc... The Oncotype test will take most of those things into account. I waited about 10 days for my Oncotype results - I'm not sure where you are so it may take longer...so don't bank on chemo for sure until you discuss those results with your doctor...

Your stats say stage 2b but you indicate no nodes were involved. As understand it, that should put you at stage 2a - almost stage 1a. Stage 1a would be 2 cm or less no nodes involved. I was 0.1cm away from being stage 1a.

You may want to double check with your doctors about the stage 2a vs 2b....just to clarify for yourself. That could affect your treatment decision....

Being ER/PR+ hormonal therapy will be a big factor in your ongoing treatment. I am on letrozole.

Beer and maple syrup - love it!😊

You can look up the definitions of stage 2a vs 2b on breastcancer.org. According to those definitions, without nodal involvement, your size tumor puts you at stage 2a.

If you look at it purely fromnumbers standpoint, the Oncotype test will tell you whether your particular case will benefit from chemo or not. If the Oncotype score is low enough, there are even some instances where the risks and side effects of chemo (hair loss, neuropathy, heart damage, etc.) could outweigh the benefits for your particular tumor. In other words, chemo might just carry a risk of doing more harm than good. It all depends on the score.

Your doctor needs to explain this carefully to you once you have the score back. Risks of chemo vs benefits....

All that being said, peace of mind is invaluable - that is something you will have to decide for yourself when the time comes and you have all information available to you in order to make the most informed decision possible. There are never any guarantees with cancer. Some people do chemo and still recur - others don't do chemo and don't recur - we just never know for sure. That's the part that is so hard to deal with.

I hope you get the results soon and they are what you are hoping for!!

I was diagnosed in October 2016 with a 1.6mm ILC tumour and 1/3 nodes involved. Although my incotyoe score was low (13), and ULC responds better to hormonetreatment, chemo was recommended given my age and node involvement. All scans at the time were clear and I began chemo. I have done Acx4 and 8x Taxol so far. The remaining 4 Taxols are lending and the plan is tend to move to endocrine therapy.

I have been experiencing shoulder and arm bone pain consistent with mets. The thinking is that it is likely due to the treatments but it was felt that another scan was in order. Given I was diagnosed at stage 2. Had a scan performed in January and have been in chemo, I'm can't but feel that it's highly unlikely it would jump to stage IV with bone mets so quickly!

Would love to hear from anyone who may ha be experienced this and/or who has an opinion on feasibility of this occurring so soon after diagnosis. Thanks!!