Chemo or no chemo? - help

Eil4186 said:

We have a lot in common.
Hi, I can understand your concerns. I was also 42 at diagnosis, and also er/pr+, her2-, grade 1 with a 1.5cm tumor. Our cancers have a lot in common. I had 4 rounds of Adriamycin/cytoxan and 4 rounds of taxol, rads and am taking tamoxifen. I think my chance of recurrence with all that is about 10%. Which I feel is pretty good. I understand what you mean when you say you would regret not having chemo if something happened down the road. My hubby was against chemo and I felt as you do----I didn't want to have any regrets later on. The way I see it, why not do everything possible to prevent having to ever go through this mess again?

Good luck, and go with your heart and what your gut tells you. Keep us posted. Eileen

Have the two of you been
Have the two of you been reading my path reports..??? We have a running script here... ER+ PR+ HER2- tumor 1.0 cm... total grey area... now waiting on the oncotype DX test results to either solidify the chemo decision, refute it... or decide for myself... If it comes down to the middle area...then I too will be having the chemo... I need to do everything I can to never hear those three words again, or my name in the same sentence as that beast!

Good luck with whatever decision you feel is right for you.. please keep us posted..

Hugs

~T

Hello, I am also new to this
Hello, I am also new to this process. My diagnosis is quite similar to yours. I also have invasive ductal carcinoma but mine spread to one lymph node, or so they think. Anyways, I did not seem to have a choice with chemotherapy or radiation. Radiation was always recommended and a board reviewed my case and then Chemotherapy was recommended along with Tamoxofin.
I started my first Chemotherapy treatment about three weeks ago and have three more to go.

I would recommend having another oncologist review your case. I do not think any decision should be made with such uncertainty. You may feel more comfortable talking to others. I spoke to a surgeon who also was diagnosed with cancer and she ended up getting three doctor's recommendations in total.

Ultimately you know yourself and you need to live with your decision.

Good luck with this process and know that you are not alone.

so hard to decide
Well, the good news is that your stats are good and your tumor is small. But I know that making a decision is difficult. We don't know what the future holds, but we can only make the best decision with the information we have today. I think that the advantage that chemo gives you (50% reduction in risk) is significant. On the other hand, chemo is not without side effects and you have a very small tumor that is not very aggressive. Another thing to consider is age, as you said. You have many more years ahead of you to avoid recurrence and your body can take difficult treatments. Please get another opinion (or two) before you decide for sure. Good luck.

Mimi

Piggies said:

Oncotype DX
Today, July 7, 2009 is my one year anniversary of my breast cancer diagnosis. I was fortunate, it was caught very early, Stage 1, lumpectomy only and six weeks radiation. My Oncotype DX Score was an 11, which is considered good (low chance of recurrence). My breast surgeon, medical oncologist, gynecologist and radiation oncologist all agreed that chemo was not needed as there would be no added benefit to having it. I chose to listen to the doctors and did not have chemo. Over the past year, I often wondered if perhaps maybe I should have had it anyway as I worry about recurrence. It all comes back to the fact that deep down inside I realize I made the right choice. I've had several mammograms since I finished radiation in October 2008 and everything is good. I'm due for another one next week. I have to believe that I made the right choice. I wish you well on your journey.

Why does everyone go by the
Why does everyone go by the Oncotype DX test to see if they need chemo or not? Why don't you take into consideration the size of your tumor and the grade it is? Just curious. It seems like so many don't get the treatments that they would otherwise, based on that one test.

susie09 said:

Why does everyone go by the
Why does everyone go by the Oncotype DX test to see if they need chemo or not? Why don't you take into consideration the size of your tumor and the grade it is? Just curious. It seems like so many don't get the treatments that they would otherwise, based on that one test.

Everyone isn't going by the
Everyone isn't going by the Oncotype DX test to see if they need chemo. Most of us that are using this test to help decide have small tumors, no node involvement, and low grade. This test can help to determine recurrence. I don't think that anyone is using this test alone to determine chemo. It's just another tool in determining treatment. I had a 1 cm tumor, no node involvement, grade 1 & 2. My score was 22. This is in the midde. I chose to do the study and was randomized for no chemo. I am fine with this, but if I had been randomized for chemo I would have been fine with that. If my number had been low, then I would not have had chemo and if it had been high I would have. I just happened to be in that murky middle ground. Size of tumor, node involvement and grade is probably the most important indicators for chemo. I think everyone with a large tumor or that had cancer in their nodes or a higher grade did chemo. Stage 2 and above usually always do chemo. Most of us onco test people are stage 1. Am I correct ladies or talking through my hat?
Stef

No choice
I wasn't given a choice either.
I had 16 rounds of chemo and 33 days of radiation.
My cancer had spread to 4 of my lymph nodes, was 3cm in size and estrogen positive.

on the other hand my mother is a 27 year survivor of breast cancer.
she lost both breast - cancer may have been in one node.
No other info available
she had no chemo and no radiation (the chemo dr wanted her to have chemo but she opted not to)

Now I have to decide about whether or not to go on Femera.

I am with everyone else. The decision is ultimately yours and you have to live with that decision come what may. It is definitely not an easy decision after all we are talking about our lives. Even with different drs opinions you are still the one that has to live with the final decision.

The comment once made to me was "wouldn't you want to do whatever you can to increase your odds of keeping the cancer from coming back." Much to think about.

I wish you a peace of mind in whatever decision you make. God Bless

I was not given an option, but I always have choices...
Without chemo, but with hormonal drug therapy, I have a 27% chance of surviving without cancer. With chemo, I increased my chances to 40% (according to my prognosis), as long as I continued my hormonal therapy. With only chemo and no hormonal therapy, I have only a 17% chance of living without chemo.

These are my stats, they are personal and unique to my illness; just as your dx is unique to you. What works for me, physically and emotionally, is also unique to me and may not be the best choice for you. If we were all the same, maybe the researchers would have found a cure by now. But, unfortunately, they have not found a cure and, as unfair as it may seem, we are individually responsible for making perhaps the hardest and most fightening decision of our lives.

Though I was given no other option except to undergo chemo and radiation, I could have stopped it at any time. I chose not to stop, I have a daughter who needed me.

As for me, it is true for also for you: you cannot stop something that you never began. If you, or anyone, chooses to chemo, radiation, hormonal therapy, other drugs, homeopathy,...whatever-it's your choice and no one will fault you for your decision. However, should you not try something, you will never know if you have done all you could have done to beat the stats. You will never have the opportunity to stop (pull that "trump card" as Vickie Girard says in her book "There's no Place like Hope") if you don't start.

You have been dealt the cards, my friend, but it is only you who can decide which ones to play. It's up to you, but we will be with you every step of the way--that's why we have each other.
dmc

dmc_emmy said:

I was not given an option, but I always have choices...
Without chemo, but with hormonal drug therapy, I have a 27% chance of surviving without cancer. With chemo, I increased my chances to 40% (according to my prognosis), as long as I continued my hormonal therapy. With only chemo and no hormonal therapy, I have only a 17% chance of living without chemo.

These are my stats, they are personal and unique to my illness; just as your dx is unique to you. What works for me, physically and emotionally, is also unique to me and may not be the best choice for you. If we were all the same, maybe the researchers would have found a cure by now. But, unfortunately, they have not found a cure and, as unfair as it may seem, we are individually responsible for making perhaps the hardest and most fightening decision of our lives.

Though I was given no other option except to undergo chemo and radiation, I could have stopped it at any time. I chose not to stop, I have a daughter who needed me.

As for me, it is true for also for you: you cannot stop something that you never began. If you, or anyone, chooses to chemo, radiation, hormonal therapy, other drugs, homeopathy,...whatever-it's your choice and no one will fault you for your decision. However, should you not try something, you will never know if you have done all you could have done to beat the stats. You will never have the opportunity to stop (pull that "trump card" as Vickie Girard says in her book "There's no Place like Hope") if you don't start.

You have been dealt the cards, my friend, but it is only you who can decide which ones to play. It's up to you, but we will be with you every step of the way--that's why we have each other.
dmc

I just want to wish you the
I just want to wish you the best of luck!

Noel said:

I just want to wish you the
I just want to wish you the best of luck!

I am wrestling with the
I am wrestling with the decision to do chemo or not as well. I am er/pr + and her+. They are awaiting results from the dx test on me, and then my onco will discuss what she thinks on me doing chemo. I am wondering if i choose not to do chemo, i know that i will always have it in my head and worry about it spreading or coming back. Like i just read from someone else. This is such a difficult choice to make. Its hard to believe they actually cantell from one single test on wether or not you should take chemo treatments. Especially since i am her+ which means it was aggressive. I wish you luck and to let you know that you are not alone, many are trying to make the same decision.

We're going through the same dilema
Hi 4slurpee. I sent a discussion board out exactly like this about a week ago for my sister. She has your exact same stats and had an Oncotype score of 22. Today was her first treatment and happy to say she is doing well. At first I told her don't do it, it's too invasive, the side effects, etc. But then I got on this site and started hearing everyone else's stories and did further research. The Oncotype test was validated at 11-25 for the middle range, which if you look at it like that my sister was at the higher end of the scale as is your score. Not the 31 that's recommended now. My sister's doctor recommended 4 treatments of Taxotere and Cytoxan which will be given every 3 weeks. The side effects will be controlled with an assorment of medications, but hair loss seems to be inevitable. So what I told my sister (which by the way is a single, working mother of 2 teenage children) is that I'd rather see my sister without hair then to not have a sister at all in 5 to ten years. I don't want the what ifs to haunt her or myself. She lives by herself in FL and I was able to come down for her 1st treatment today, but the next 3 she will do on her own. She also had a port inserted into her chest a week ago so that the chemo drugs and other medicines will be given through there. That pain was bad the first night, but she's fine now. A real trooper considering she has no tolerance for pain. This weekend we will assess side effects, fatigue, etc. I'll keep you posted. She wants me to tell you that our prayers are with you in this difficult decission. We completely understand.