Chemo for Stage 1

Askmissa, yes, most of my hair came out by the end of treatment, including some eyebrows and eyelashes... But, thankfully, it all came back, with the exception of some lashes. If you are concerned, you may want to look into cold-capping. My younger sister had a different chemo 20+ yrs ago, and her hair loss was minimal. You will want to discuss options with your MO. But, who knows? You may be able to skip chemo altogether!:)

I'm doing 4 rounds of TC.

I'm cold capping and still have a full head of hair 6 weeks in, but it is thinning/shedding and there are some balding spots which are hidden.

I should have been completely bald between day 14 and 18, so I think it is great. Even if more comes out, I've saved a ton.

I still have eyebrows and eyelashes.

Askmissa, do you mind sharing your Oncotype score?

It seems on this board that most of the women with PR-, high Ki-67 cancers end up with scores that do lead to a recommendation to have chemo. It will be encouraging to others, and an interesting data point, to know that this type of pathology doesn't necessarily mean a higher score.

Askmissa, with a 3mm tumor, my MO would have said the same as yours, and in fact would have refused to even send for an Oncotype result.

The average tumor size within the TAILORx study (the study on which the current Oncotype results are based) was 1.75cm, and only 15% of participants had a tumor that was 1cm or smaller. So his position would be that the Oncotype results would be meaningless for someone who had a tumor as tiny as yours. I think he would also agree that it's questionable as to whether or not Tamoxifen is even necessary, simply from a risk vs. benefit standpoint (his research focus being the side effects of breast cancer treatments).

Good luck with the Tamoxifen - hope you don't experience any significant side effects!