oncotyping score -what woud you do?

Same # for me, Michelle. I have kids but am widowed so kind of had to decide myself. Consider your stage, grade, ER/PR status, age, HER2/NEU factor. I decided against it. My diagnosis was Nov 2006. I am stage 1 as well ER/PR + HER/NEU negative and am 57. Only bad factor was it was a grade 3 tumor. I decided against chemo and have never looked back. It is a personal decision. Best of luck in your decision.

Hi Michelle

First, honey, you are not your womb, nor your ovaries.  And kids can be adopted or home grown, either under your heart, or in it.  Both of my cousins were adopted and they couldn't have been more my aunts' own children....they got two birthdays...one was the actual day, the other was "gotcha" day...the day they came home.  So we always thought they were "picked specially", and they lorded it over us.  So put that thought out of your head.  You can, of course, have a child, if not biologically, then from your heart.  You can surrogate as well if you wish.  There are so many wonderful kids out there that desperately need your love, I feel sure you will find your baby when you are ready.  But first, get mom healthy again!

I had everything out, and since I never met any of it, I do not miss it.  I am not an "empty shell" and never considered that, that way.  My husband says that now I am his love machine, as no worries re: pregnancy, and with new pretty boobs, I am built for pleasure.  (guys do have a different take on all this than we do.)  As Jack Nicholson said in "Somethings' Got to Give" when he worried about pregnancy and she answered "menopause", "Whoopee! Look who's a lucky guy!"  A very different take, they are different beings.

 Please realize your uterus is a muscle, that yes, is capable of holding a child, but also can cause some nasty things to go on.  Same with the ovaries, those little cancer bombs.   I can attest to a perfectly normal way of life after surgical oopharectomy/hysterectomy.  A little dryness, easily fixed.  That said, the way you feel is perfectly normal, and it's good to grieve for that for a little while.  Then it's good to put on big girl panties and realize that of course your life will go right on and no, you will not be less of a woman.  Much, much more of a woman for going thru this and coping with it all.  You will be one he** of a woman.  You will be a Valkyrie. 

Look, the equipment can leave the playground, but the playground is still there.  Any man worth marrying that you meet, will not give a damn.  If he does, he's not worth marrying.  Consider it a good filter for guys. 

You can get reconstructed, and my boob looks better than the original.  The outside is still all me, only the "stuffing" is new.  Again, men will not care at all, and one who does, will either admire you for your strength and what you went thru (a keeper) or if some idiot has an issue, well, that's a discard.

The chemo is do able.  One day at a time, one txtmnt at a time and you will be posting here that you are done! 

I had no SEs. other than heartburn and a crash into a nap the day after.  Never got nausea.  I am 54, was 53 and nowhere near menopause, stil had my period and tons of estrogen.  I thought surgical menopause would be really bad, no such thing.  I had a few warm ups, but really not a big deal.  Hyster sisters is a wonderful site full of great tips on all of this (hystersisters.com)

I had a score of 17, and they still did chemo.  I was unable to have rads, so had that. It is do able.  You will get thru it and you will be just fine.

PM me if I can help you thru this.  QOL is AOK on the other side!!!

xoxox

Bump

What is NED?

My Oncotype score was 16. It was a hard decision, decided to do 4 TC treatments (I'll have my 3rd on Thursday). My score was low, but my tumor was on the larger side, and at 43, I'm considered young for BC. My MO's group take many things into consideration, including the Oncotype score, but she did tell me that her group (10 oncologists) will generally use the score of 11 as a cutoff for younger, otherwise healthy patients.

She left it up to me, but did say, "I can't tell you that you'd be wrong to turn down chemo, but I can't tell you that you'd be right". I wanted to know, for myself, that I did everything I could to prevent a recurrence.

Wow, this is a good thread.  Chemo vs no chemo; that's a tough and very personal question.

My oncotype score was a 21, a 13% recurrance rate.  I am in my 40's.  

I got 3 opinions:

Opinion #1:  You had a 4cm tumor. You NEED to do chemo.  Any regimin will work, but do SOMETHING.  

Opinion #2:   You should do chemo, but if you really don't want to you could skip it.  If  you do opt for chemo, choose dose-dense ACT.  You might as well go for the big-guns, if you're going to bother to do it at all.  

Opinion #3:  If you want to do chemo, do T/C.  It's less cardio-toxic than the ACT.  I got the feeling that MO #3 would have happily supported me if I decided not to do chemo at all. 

All 3 opinions recommended Tamoxifen for 5 years afterwards.

I went with opinion #3:  T/C X4.  I felt like it was a good compromise between all 3 MOs, and was something I could live with. 

I just finished my 4th T/C treatment last week.  It was not as bad as I thought it would be. 

Wishing you strength in making your decision.

Hi Sjensen29,

You really have a big choice to make here.  Here are my thoughts, for what they are worth...

I think you need a 3rd Dr to run this by.  It could be yet another MO or even your primary care Dr.  PCPs are used to interpreting data from studies that may not pertain directly to you. (eg: no 20-somethings in oncotype study.) & your PCP knows you already.

Also, would your 2nd MO change his decision if  you opted to have further breast surgery to decrese the amt of breast tissue that  you have left?  This would not have an impact on fertility, yet would cut your risk of future BC considerably.  

I hope this helps,

Karmil

Bump!