4mm invasive TNBC

Yes. but I was 1mm on the other side (6mm) and I had chemo. My Onc and BS both said if I was under 5mm then I wouldn't have had to have chemo. I don't know if the standard of care is different for BRCA+. And actually they both said that chemo is "considered" from 6mm to 1cm, I believe. So they thought it could go either way, but they said it was probably a good idea to do chemo.

And I was like you...I couldn't believe that a tiny bit, like 1mm, would make a difference between chemo or not.

If you're uncomfortable, you could always get a 2nd opinion to put your mind at ease.

I'm not sure?? That's what my pathology report said, post surgery. I had chemo post surgery. I don't know that I had a size estimate with my biopsy--I don't think I ever saw a report from the biopsy. I had a stereotactic biopsy (I think that's what it was called) if that makes a difference?? This was 5 years ago, so a lot could have changed between then and now.

The doctors did recommend chemo, but said that standard of care was that it was "considered" over 5mm. They said they were recommending it because of my age and to reduce the risk of reoccurence.

They did think for awhile that I might be Stage 0 because it looked to be inflammed around the tumor (my notes) and they thought it may not have spread, but they requested a slide from my original hospital and I was Stage 1. I don't know if any of that factored into their decision.

I recorded some statistics (I always took notes) and it looks like the benefit of the chemo was primarily in reducing the risk of it coming back.

I felt like I had little choice, but I think that came from me and not from the doctors. They did ask if I wanted chemo. (Like who wants chemo, right?) Although in retrospect, if I had decided against it, they would have probably tried to sway me towards chemo.

To the Original Poster: you could ask them to run the statistics for you as well--they may be helpful in making your decision. My doctors used a site called Adjuvent? Online.

Hello from Chicago!

You'll be at 5 years before you know it too!

I never asked her what that meant and I usually ask her everything. At the time, I was just so excited about the possibiity of being Stage 0 that I didn't listen to much else.

Hi northstarnc,

I did okay and was pretty scared for my first round like you are. I followed all the tips and tricks mentioned in the chemo thread--if you want specifics of what I did, let me know--I'd be happy to share. I didn't vomit at all, which was one of my biggest fears. One of the best bits of advice I was given was to let the doctor know my symptoms so that they could be fixed. I was woozy and couldn't sleep well during the first few days after my first round. I let the doctor know and he gave me something to help with those symptoms for the next rounds.

I did chemo for the same reason. I didn't want the cancer to come back. And I figured I was young and could handle it.

Good luck on Monday! You'll do fine!

Dear Eunice,

maybe you want to look at tools like cancermath where you can see the benefits of chemo for a tumour with the size of your mother´s. You will see that chemo for such a tiny tumour brings no more benefit than maybe 2%. Is that worth all side effects? You will never get up to a 100% guarantee once you have had cancer but I am sure that declining chemo is the right decision. Her KI67 is pretty low so chemo will not work that good for her.

Best wishes,

Desiree

chi-girl,

do you remember if your path report said lymphovascular invasion? my identical twin was just diagnosed with TNBC. 7mm tumor. She had lumpectomy-no lymph node involvement and margins clear. the report also showed slight lymphovascular invasion.

they are recommending chemo but gave her a choice of CMF, TC or ACT. Like you, she cant seem to reconcile the side effects for 2mm!