Radiation or tamoxifen

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mbryant
mbryant Member Posts: 10
edited March 2018 in IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)

just diagnosed today my bx came back as IDC stage 1 grade 1. my surgeon is telling me so info i am over whelmed he scheduled me for partial mastectomy 1/30/18. and he's talking about internal radiation where he puts this catheter inside my breast to administer the radiation. and he's talking about the MO will probably want me to take something by mouth, since he thinks it will be the estrogen kind. sorry i don't know all the correct words and initials yet. he says he will need to put a place holder in my breast for the catheter to go in if i choose radiation. or if choose not to have it he won't. so i told him i didn't want it (radiation) that i would take the pills and keep a close eye on things and if it showed up again then do the radiation. why do i have to choose i want someone to tell me what to do. he is pretty sure this is going to be curable or what ever u call it. do u ever get cured from cancer? any thoughts on this mumbo jumbo ? still in a state of shock at all this still processing

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  • Georgia1
    Georgia1 Member Posts: 1,321
    edited January 2018

    Hi sweetie and I'm so sorry this is hitting you all at once. This is my guess at what you are dealing with:

    A "partial masectomy" is what insurance companies call a lumpectomy. It's the removal of the mass + removal of a lymph node under your arm to check for spread. It's surgery, but fairly easy, and you go home the same day.

    Then there is radiation to prevent recurrence in the same breast. Sounds like he's recommending IORT, which means you have early stage, very treatable breast cancer. That's a good thing! But if for any reason you don't like that option you can instead get 3 1/2 weeks of daily radiation treatment.

    Then unfortunately you need to take a pill - Tamoxifen or an aromotase inhibitor - to prevent the cancer from reappearing in your other breast or somewhere else in your body. That's called hormone or estrogen therapy.

    If you have a second hospital near you, you may want to get a second opinion. But it sounds like a solid treatment plan and I hope the first part of treatment goes by fast for you. Let us know what else we can do to help.

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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited January 2018
    Hopefully your team of docs will give you more details and explain things. Typically with a lumpectomy, radiation goalies. If not, your chance of local recurrence roses quite a bit. Tamoxifen, or another anti hormonal typically follows (it is not an either-or) to prevent distant metastasis.
    Ultimately, it is your choice. The recommendations will be based on your cancer type, your age, and other health problems. Best wishes.
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  • gb2115
    gb2115 Member Posts: 1,894
    edited January 2018

    Standard of care after a lumpectomy is radiation, otherwise the risk of recurrence jumps way way higher. You always have a choice but definitely don't rule it out until someone has discussed the risk of skipping it with you.

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  • TWills
    TWills Member Posts: 679
    edited January 2018

    Just like they've said above, it's not an either or type decision. Make sure you you spend the time with your Dr's, demand it if you have to, to fully understand the treatment options. Have them write it down if necessary. That will slow them down a bit too:) Your knowledge of the terms will drastically improve every day as will the understanding of your diagnosis. Good luck:)


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  • Wendysw2002
    Wendysw2002 Member Posts: 2
    edited January 2018

    you made me laugh. Thank you. Yes this is mumbo jumbo!

    Psst. Doctors. Pills radiation ugh.

    My advise for you is to record the conversation.

    The go home take notes. Etc.

    stay strong.

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  • Wendysw2002
    Wendysw2002 Member Posts: 2
    edited January 2018

    you made me laugh. Thank you. Yes this is mumbo jumbo!

    Psst. Doctors. Pills radiation ugh.

    My advise for you is to record the conversation.

    The go home take notes. Etc.

    stay strong.

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  • Liahna
    Liahna Member Posts: 3
    edited February 2018

    Yes, some people do get cured from cancer. I consider myself cured. It's been 14 years since I had a diagnosis similar to yours - IDC (with DCIS) grade 1 stage 1. I was 49 at diagnosis. I'm now 63. Total tumor size was just around one cm.

    I had a wide margin lumpectomy, biopsy track removal, and I refused radiation and hormonal therapy. As I said, it's been 14 years. The standard of care is lumpectomy with radiation, but the standard of care isn't necessarily what everyone requires for a cure. If you got a low-grade, fairly small cancer and the lumpectomy margins are wide and clear ( without re-excision), you may be able to get away with not doing anything but a lumpectomy...but really should have the biopsy track removed if there's not going to be any breast radiation. And definately would need a second pathology opinion on the excised tumor to be sure about the diagnosis.

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  • Mrsmcg
    Mrsmcg Member Posts: 67
    edited March 2018

    Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. In January I was diagnosed with idc, stage 1, 1 grade; ER+, PR+, HER2-. I am scheduled to have a lumpecomy with oncoplastic (breast reduction and lift) on March 16th. I would have likely had surgery sooner, but I pushed my BC Dr into getting my genetic testing done. It took almost 3 weeks to get the results back.

    Last August I had a lumpectomy on the same side, but it didn't show cancer, but did show that I had ADH. At that time I was put on Tamoxifen, and a six month recheck, which is when the IDC was discovered.

    I am being told that I will need to have radiation. My dr does not do intraoperative radiation. I am supposed to have a consult with the radiologist this week.

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