Didnt have rads but i have a question about it
Quick version of mine:
IDC and DCIS stage II tumor 1.2cm 1/12 nodes positive ER+/PR+ HER2 (1+)
bilaterial mastectomy with reconstruction
I hope im not being to confusing...just wondering if this is normal or something i should double check with my new oncologist.
Comments
-
If you have a lumpectomy you
If you have a lumpectomy you have to have rads. They want to make sure there are no little cancer cells running around in the rest of your breast.
Hugs
Donna0 -
I agree with Donna. I hadBlownAway60 said:If you have a lumpectomy you
If you have a lumpectomy you have to have rads. They want to make sure there are no little cancer cells running around in the rest of your breast.
Hugs
Donna
I agree with Donna. I had IDC stage 1 grade 1 and had lumpectomy, 3 lymph nodes removed all clear. My tumor was about a cm. That is what my Onc. told me it is just to kill any stray cells they chemo could have missed. God Bless
(((Hugs))) Janice0 -
There is an argument..............Jean 0609 said:jo jo
I originally had a lumptectomy and was supposed to have rads after that. However, my margins weren't clear. Therefore, I decided to have a mastectomy instead of another lumpectcomy. Since I had the mastectomy I didn't need the rads.
Always an argument!!! There is one side that early bc patients, or tumors , 1cm should get radiation, and then there is the argument that they should NOT receive radiations IF they have a mastectomy. The other side of the coin is some feel like they SHOULD. Like you, Jo Jo, I had a mastectomy, but no rads. Then this battle starts up. If I can find the articles, I will post the link. I 'm on my way out the door,so don't have time to look right now. If I do find it, I'll post back here.
I think the general rule of thumb is that your planned course is a lumpectomy, then the next step is rads. No matter what size. When I had my surgery, clear margins, no nodes, then I was told I had been aggressive enough.
I hope so!!0 -
Jo Jo
If you have a
Jo Jo
If you have a lumpectomy the standard course of treatment is to have rads to make sure all the cancer cell are gone. I start my rads in about a week. I wish I knew now what I didn't know when I made the decision for lumpectomy. I would have really considered a mastectomy. But who knows maybe I'll get perkier boobs.
Sparkle0 -
I had a lumpectomy followedsparkle1 said:Jo Jo
If you have a
Jo Jo
If you have a lumpectomy the standard course of treatment is to have rads to make sure all the cancer cell are gone. I start my rads in about a week. I wish I knew now what I didn't know when I made the decision for lumpectomy. I would have really considered a mastectomy. But who knows maybe I'll get perkier boobs.
Sparkle
I had a lumpectomy followed by rads too. The radiation is to kill any stray cancer cells left behind by surgery, so, I am glad I had it. There are also some women on here that had mastectomy's that had rads also. I hope they will post too. I wonder if it depends on your oncologist as to whether you have rads or not after a mastectomy?
Hugs, Leeza0 -
Thank you ladies
Ok let me see if im gettting this...
basically the rule of thumb is if you have a lumpectomy you get rads to make sure all cancer cells are gone....but if you have a mastectomy rads are not needed in most cases...except for the exception to the rule?
Jean i was like you, had the lumpectomy but margins werent clear and had the mastectomy with positive node.
Survives thanks for the info...looking forward to your link.0 -
With or without Rads argumentjo jo said:Thank you ladies
Ok let me see if im gettting this...
basically the rule of thumb is if you have a lumpectomy you get rads to make sure all cancer cells are gone....but if you have a mastectomy rads are not needed in most cases...except for the exception to the rule?
Jean i was like you, had the lumpectomy but margins werent clear and had the mastectomy with positive node.
Survives thanks for the info...looking forward to your link.
I FINALLY found it. Now, using Firefox, I'll have to see if I can copy and paste. Anyway, both of these articles came as newsletters in March and April from breastcancer.org. As one with early bc, it is VERY confusing, as they completely contradict each other. This is where trust must come into play. I've quit trying to second guess my doctors. My take on it is that they really don't know what to do with they very early patients.
OVERUSED-March 2010
http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/radiation/new_research/20100306b.jsp
UNDERUSED- April 2010
http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/radiation/new_research/20100331.jsp
I do know that later stage mastectomy patients NOW get radiation. This is to clean up any cells that may have escaped. Of course, I'm sure that if we wait long enough, there will be an argument on this as well!!
Jo Jo, hope this helps.
EDITED TO ADD: I don't know how to make active links, so you will have to copy and paste into your browser.0 -
if I knew then what I know now...sparkle1 said:Jo Jo
If you have a
Jo Jo
If you have a lumpectomy the standard course of treatment is to have rads to make sure all the cancer cell are gone. I start my rads in about a week. I wish I knew now what I didn't know when I made the decision for lumpectomy. I would have really considered a mastectomy. But who knows maybe I'll get perkier boobs.
Sparkle
I would elect to go back and have a mastectomy instead of radiation. They do NOT prepare you for the side effects of radiation. The radiation itself is nothing, it's the side effects that kill me.
I finished radiation from 4/13 to 5/28 and am still having crippling fatigue. It's like carrying around a 200 lb. of lead all the time. I am still having borderline migraines, nausea, and shortness of breath.
If I had had a mastectomy, I would be having NONE of these listed above. I still have days when I am achy and sore from my lumpectomy, but that's to be expected. They did, after all, remove part of you and that has to heal and re-arrange. They told me to wait a year to see if I wanted reconstruction. Well, duh, do I really want a divet in my boob?
I know everyone is different, but from what I have read, it takes 1 to 2 years to get "back to normal"...whatever that is. Radiation, like chemo, is poison that they are putting in your body.
This is my opinion, for whatever it is worth...
Thanks for listening,
Betsy0 -
JoJo
my sister who had DCIS had lumpectomy and rads. My other sister had lumpectomy & 7 positive lymph nodes, chemo & rads. I'm due for my 2nd chemo next Tuesday after having bilateral mastectomy but it is still questionable if I will have rads because my tumor was 6.1 cm but I had no lymph node involvement. I'm hoping I won't need rads.
Char0 -
Clear marginssurvives said:There is an argument..............
Always an argument!!! There is one side that early bc patients, or tumors , 1cm should get radiation, and then there is the argument that they should NOT receive radiations IF they have a mastectomy. The other side of the coin is some feel like they SHOULD. Like you, Jo Jo, I had a mastectomy, but no rads. Then this battle starts up. If I can find the articles, I will post the link. I 'm on my way out the door,so don't have time to look right now. If I do find it, I'll post back here.
I think the general rule of thumb is that your planned course is a lumpectomy, then the next step is rads. No matter what size. When I had my surgery, clear margins, no nodes, then I was told I had been aggressive enough.
I hope so!!
Survives,
I also think that "clear margins" (after mastectomy) is the key to avoiding rads.
After my bi-lateral they found that I had a clear margin of only .01mm so my oncologist recommended rads for me. If my clear margin had been farther away from my chest wall they wouldn't have done rads but they removed quite a bit of my chest muscles and it was still very close. The other two options I had were to do nothing else (no rads or medication after surgery) or go back to surgery to have even more of my chest muscles removed. After looking at myself I determined that being able to feel and see my ribs was enough chest muscle removal for me and chose rads.0 -
Wolficahjah75 said:JoJo
my sister who had DCIS had lumpectomy and rads. My other sister had lumpectomy & 7 positive lymph nodes, chemo & rads. I'm due for my 2nd chemo next Tuesday after having bilateral mastectomy but it is still questionable if I will have rads because my tumor was 6.1 cm but I had no lymph node involvement. I'm hoping I won't need rads.
Char
Just saw your post, and yes, you are right. Clean margins are a plus in the "no rads' department.0 -
depends on rad. onc.survives said:Wolfi
Just saw your post, and yes, you are right. Clean margins are a plus in the "no rads' department.
I had clean margins and still had 33 rads, 5 of which were boosters. I don't know if there is any specific guidelines. My rad. onc. told me, basically, this was my only choice. Not having rads wasn't a choice.
I guess all doctors think differently. Wish I had had a 2nd opinion. I was so scared I just did whatever they told me to do to get rid of this junk..
Take care, ladies!
Betsy0 -
Understanding your pathology report & impact on treatment optionBetsy13 said:depends on rad. onc.
I had clean margins and still had 33 rads, 5 of which were boosters. I don't know if there is any specific guidelines. My rad. onc. told me, basically, this was my only choice. Not having rads wasn't a choice.
I guess all doctors think differently. Wish I had had a 2nd opinion. I was so scared I just did whatever they told me to do to get rid of this junk..
Take care, ladies!
Betsy
Cant emphasis the value of the pathology report enough. The following categories on the path report express findings on the type, behavior, aggressiveness, and characteristics of the type of cancer/tumors one has.
The pathology report is also very valuable in trying to determine the chances of the particular cancer returning or recurring after the cancer has gone into remission.
A pathologist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing diseases by examining tissue from the body. You will probably never meet the pathologist, but samples of your breast tissue and lymph nodes, removed during surgery or biopsy, will be sent to him or her for review. The pathologist prepares a summary report of his or her findings, which is called the pathology report
Parts of Your Report
Specimen: This section describes where the tissue samples came from. Tissue samples could be taken from the breast, from the lymph nodes under your arm (axilla), or both.
Clinical history: This is a short description of you and how the breast abnormality was found. It also describes the kind of surgery that was done.
Clinical diagnosis: This is the diagnosis the doctors were expecting before your breast tissue sample was tested.
Gross description: This section describes the tissue sample or samples. It talks about the size, weight, and color of each sample.
Microscopic description: This section describes the way the cancer cells look under the microscope.
Special tests or markers: This section reports the results of tests for proteins, genes, and how fast the cells are growing.
Summary or final diagnosis: This section is the short description of all the important findings in each tissue sample.
Histological Grade
Histological grade is reported using the "Bloom Richardson Scale" or "Nottingham Score". It is a combination of nuclear grade, mitotic rate, and tubule formation, which are characteristics of the tumor cells seen under a microscope that predict its aggressiveness. This scoring system is very detailed. In general, high grade tumors are more likely to recur when compared to low grade tumors.
•Nuclear Grade: a score is given from 1 to 3, based on the appearance of the nucleus of the cancer cells, with 1 being the closest to normal cells (better), 3 being the most variation (worse).
•Mitotic Rate: describes how quickly the cancer cells are multiplying or dividing using a 1 to 3 scale, 1 being the slowest, 3 the most rapid.
•Tubule formation: this score represents the percent of cancer cells that are in tubule formation. A score of 1 means greater than 75% of cells are in tubule formation (better), a score of 3 is used when less than 10% of cells are in tubule formation (worse), a score of 2 is in between 10 and 75%.
The three scores are then combined for a total score between 3 (1+1+1) and 9 (3+3+3). This score translates to a histological grade. You may see the three values and total score or just the final grade.
•Score of 3,4 or 5: Well differentiated or low grade (Grade 1)
•Score of 6 or 7: Moderately differentiated or intermediate grade (Grade 2)
•Score of 8 or 9: Poorly differentiated or high grade (Grade 3)
Tumor Size
The size of the tumor is reported in centimeters. One inch equals about 2 ½ centimeters. It is not uncommon for the pathologist to find additional tumor(s) in the specimen that you did not know were there. If multiple tumors are found, the size and location of each will be noted. Tumor locations are often given based on the quadrant it was found in.
Imagine the breast is divided with a "+" sign into 4 parts or quadrants. They are named upper inner quadrant (UIQ), upper outer quadrant (UOQ), lower outer quadrant (LOQ), lower inner quadrant (LIQ) and "axillary tail" is used to describe the breast tissue that extends under the armpit.
Margins
Your report will give some information about the margins. These are the edges of the surgical specimen and the report will tell you how close the tumor comes to the edge. When performing a cancer surgery, the surgeon attempts to remove the entire tumor and some normal tissue surrounding it. This area of "normal tissue" is important because any stray cancer cells may be included in this. If the edge (or margin) contains tumor, there may have been cancer cells left behind. The goal of surgery is to achieve a "clear margin", that is, clear of any cancer cells. A "clean" or "clear" margin is defined as no tumor cells within 1-2 millimeters (depending on the pathologist) of the edge of the specimen. If the tumor cells are closer than this to the margin, additional surgery or radiation may be needed.
Lymphovascular Invasion
When the pathologist examines the tumor and surrounding tissue available to them, they look at the tiny blood vessels and lymphatic drainage to see if any tumor cells have invaded them. This is different from the lymph nodes and would be reported as whether or not lymphatic or vascular invasion is seen. The presence of this may be a sign of a more aggressive tumor.
Lymph Nodes
The lymph system is essentially the "housekeeping system" of the body. It is a network of vessels (tubes) which connect lymph nodes. These nodes can vary in size, but are normally up to about 2 centimeters in width. They contain cells that clear bacteria and other foreign debris from the body. Lymph is a watery liquid that flows between cells in the body, picking up foreign debris and taking it into the lymph node for filtering and ultimately, elimination by the liver.
Cancer cells use the lymph system as a first step to traveling to other areas of the body. During a breast cancer surgery, lymph nodes are removed and checked for the presence of cancer cells. This will be reported as the number of lymph nodes that contained cancer cells and how many were examined. For example, the report might state "ten benign lymph nodes (0/10)" (no cancer seen) or "tumor seen in ten of twelve lymph nodes (10/12)."
In some cases, sentinel lymph node biopsy may be used. This procedure involves injecting a dye and/or radioactive tracer into the area of the tumor and allowing it to naturally drain to the lymph nodes. The first 1 or 2 lymph nodes it travels to are called the sentinel node(s). The theory is that the cancer cells would travel the same path, so if cancer cells are not present in the sentinel node, it can be safely assumed that they did not spread into the lymph system. If the pathologist finds cancer cells in the sentinel node, a full axillary lymph node dissection is recommended.
Hormone Status
Hormone receptors for estrogen and progesterone are present in high numbers in some breast cancers, making the growth of these tumors reliant on hormones. These tumors are referred to as hormone receptor positive, ER+/PR+, ER+/PR- or ER-/PR+. The receptors are present on the cancer cells and when the hormone attaches to the receptor, it allows the cancer cell to grow and divide. Hormone therapy can be used to interfere with theses receptors, slowing or stopping tumor growth or preventing recurrence.
There is no standard for reporting the receptor status, so you may see anyone of the following:
•A percentage of the cells that reacted positive for receptors (from 0% to 100%).
•A number between 0 and 3, with 0 being no receptors and 3 being the most receptors.
•An Allred score is a combination of the percent positive and their intensity. The score is from 0-9, with 9 being the most strongly receptor positive.
•Positive or negative.
In the case of just a positive or negative result, the percentage should be requested. This is because research has shown that even tumors with very low positivity can benefit from hormone therapy, yet some labs report low results (<10%) as negative. Therefore, the only true negative is a result that is zero percent of receptors positive.
Her-2 Status
The Her-2/neu gene stimulates production of a protein found on the surface of breast cancer cells that tells the cells to grow and divide. In about 25-30% of breast cancers, there are too many copies of the gene or the protein is over expressed on the cell surface, causing the cancer to grow faster and be more aggressive. Breast tumors are routinely tested, by one of two available tests, to see if they have too many copies of the gene or over express the protein. The immunohistochemistry (IHC) test looks for over expression of the protein and is reported as a number from 0 to +3. Zero and +1 are considered Her 2 negative, +2 is borderline and +3 is considered Her 2 positive. The second test, called FISH (or fluorescent in situ hybridization), examines the tumor for extra copies of the Her 2 gene and is reported as positive or negative. Patients with a +2 (borderline) result on IHC, should have the FISH test done in addition to clarify the borderline result as positive or negative. Her 2 positive tumors may be treated with medications, called monoclonal antibodies, targeting the Her 2 protein.
Oncotype DX Test
More than half of the people in the U.S. who are diagnosed with breast cancer have estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+), lymph-node-negative cancer. This means that the cancer’s growth is fueled by the hormone estrogen, and it can be treated with hormonal therapies that block or lower estrogen. It also means that the cancer has not spread from the original tumor site to the lymph nodes. Negative lymph nodes are a good sign: if there is no evidence of cancer cells in the lymph nodes, then the cancer most likely is limited to the breast.
If you find yourself in this group of people, you may wonder whether or not you really need chemotherapy in addition to hormonal therapy. Both chemotherapy and hormonal therapy are systemic treatments (medications that travel throughout the entire body) given to help reduce the risk that the cancer will return or spread. Studies have shown that chemotherapy offers added benefit for only a fraction of people with early-stage (stage I or II), node-negative, ER+ cancer who take hormonal therapy. That’s because only a small number of these early cancers pose a high risk of recurring or spreading outside the breast.
The Oncotype DX test may be able to help you and your doctor determine whether or not the cancer is:
likely to recur
likely to benefit from chemotherapy
The results of this test, combined with other features of the cancer, can help you make a more informed decision about whether or not to have chemotherapy0 -
what great info!HeartofSoul said:Understanding your pathology report & impact on treatment option
Cant emphasis the value of the pathology report enough. The following categories on the path report express findings on the type, behavior, aggressiveness, and characteristics of the type of cancer/tumors one has.
The pathology report is also very valuable in trying to determine the chances of the particular cancer returning or recurring after the cancer has gone into remission.
A pathologist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing diseases by examining tissue from the body. You will probably never meet the pathologist, but samples of your breast tissue and lymph nodes, removed during surgery or biopsy, will be sent to him or her for review. The pathologist prepares a summary report of his or her findings, which is called the pathology report
Parts of Your Report
Specimen: This section describes where the tissue samples came from. Tissue samples could be taken from the breast, from the lymph nodes under your arm (axilla), or both.
Clinical history: This is a short description of you and how the breast abnormality was found. It also describes the kind of surgery that was done.
Clinical diagnosis: This is the diagnosis the doctors were expecting before your breast tissue sample was tested.
Gross description: This section describes the tissue sample or samples. It talks about the size, weight, and color of each sample.
Microscopic description: This section describes the way the cancer cells look under the microscope.
Special tests or markers: This section reports the results of tests for proteins, genes, and how fast the cells are growing.
Summary or final diagnosis: This section is the short description of all the important findings in each tissue sample.
Histological Grade
Histological grade is reported using the "Bloom Richardson Scale" or "Nottingham Score". It is a combination of nuclear grade, mitotic rate, and tubule formation, which are characteristics of the tumor cells seen under a microscope that predict its aggressiveness. This scoring system is very detailed. In general, high grade tumors are more likely to recur when compared to low grade tumors.
•Nuclear Grade: a score is given from 1 to 3, based on the appearance of the nucleus of the cancer cells, with 1 being the closest to normal cells (better), 3 being the most variation (worse).
•Mitotic Rate: describes how quickly the cancer cells are multiplying or dividing using a 1 to 3 scale, 1 being the slowest, 3 the most rapid.
•Tubule formation: this score represents the percent of cancer cells that are in tubule formation. A score of 1 means greater than 75% of cells are in tubule formation (better), a score of 3 is used when less than 10% of cells are in tubule formation (worse), a score of 2 is in between 10 and 75%.
The three scores are then combined for a total score between 3 (1+1+1) and 9 (3+3+3). This score translates to a histological grade. You may see the three values and total score or just the final grade.
•Score of 3,4 or 5: Well differentiated or low grade (Grade 1)
•Score of 6 or 7: Moderately differentiated or intermediate grade (Grade 2)
•Score of 8 or 9: Poorly differentiated or high grade (Grade 3)
Tumor Size
The size of the tumor is reported in centimeters. One inch equals about 2 ½ centimeters. It is not uncommon for the pathologist to find additional tumor(s) in the specimen that you did not know were there. If multiple tumors are found, the size and location of each will be noted. Tumor locations are often given based on the quadrant it was found in.
Imagine the breast is divided with a "+" sign into 4 parts or quadrants. They are named upper inner quadrant (UIQ), upper outer quadrant (UOQ), lower outer quadrant (LOQ), lower inner quadrant (LIQ) and "axillary tail" is used to describe the breast tissue that extends under the armpit.
Margins
Your report will give some information about the margins. These are the edges of the surgical specimen and the report will tell you how close the tumor comes to the edge. When performing a cancer surgery, the surgeon attempts to remove the entire tumor and some normal tissue surrounding it. This area of "normal tissue" is important because any stray cancer cells may be included in this. If the edge (or margin) contains tumor, there may have been cancer cells left behind. The goal of surgery is to achieve a "clear margin", that is, clear of any cancer cells. A "clean" or "clear" margin is defined as no tumor cells within 1-2 millimeters (depending on the pathologist) of the edge of the specimen. If the tumor cells are closer than this to the margin, additional surgery or radiation may be needed.
Lymphovascular Invasion
When the pathologist examines the tumor and surrounding tissue available to them, they look at the tiny blood vessels and lymphatic drainage to see if any tumor cells have invaded them. This is different from the lymph nodes and would be reported as whether or not lymphatic or vascular invasion is seen. The presence of this may be a sign of a more aggressive tumor.
Lymph Nodes
The lymph system is essentially the "housekeeping system" of the body. It is a network of vessels (tubes) which connect lymph nodes. These nodes can vary in size, but are normally up to about 2 centimeters in width. They contain cells that clear bacteria and other foreign debris from the body. Lymph is a watery liquid that flows between cells in the body, picking up foreign debris and taking it into the lymph node for filtering and ultimately, elimination by the liver.
Cancer cells use the lymph system as a first step to traveling to other areas of the body. During a breast cancer surgery, lymph nodes are removed and checked for the presence of cancer cells. This will be reported as the number of lymph nodes that contained cancer cells and how many were examined. For example, the report might state "ten benign lymph nodes (0/10)" (no cancer seen) or "tumor seen in ten of twelve lymph nodes (10/12)."
In some cases, sentinel lymph node biopsy may be used. This procedure involves injecting a dye and/or radioactive tracer into the area of the tumor and allowing it to naturally drain to the lymph nodes. The first 1 or 2 lymph nodes it travels to are called the sentinel node(s). The theory is that the cancer cells would travel the same path, so if cancer cells are not present in the sentinel node, it can be safely assumed that they did not spread into the lymph system. If the pathologist finds cancer cells in the sentinel node, a full axillary lymph node dissection is recommended.
Hormone Status
Hormone receptors for estrogen and progesterone are present in high numbers in some breast cancers, making the growth of these tumors reliant on hormones. These tumors are referred to as hormone receptor positive, ER+/PR+, ER+/PR- or ER-/PR+. The receptors are present on the cancer cells and when the hormone attaches to the receptor, it allows the cancer cell to grow and divide. Hormone therapy can be used to interfere with theses receptors, slowing or stopping tumor growth or preventing recurrence.
There is no standard for reporting the receptor status, so you may see anyone of the following:
•A percentage of the cells that reacted positive for receptors (from 0% to 100%).
•A number between 0 and 3, with 0 being no receptors and 3 being the most receptors.
•An Allred score is a combination of the percent positive and their intensity. The score is from 0-9, with 9 being the most strongly receptor positive.
•Positive or negative.
In the case of just a positive or negative result, the percentage should be requested. This is because research has shown that even tumors with very low positivity can benefit from hormone therapy, yet some labs report low results (<10%) as negative. Therefore, the only true negative is a result that is zero percent of receptors positive.
Her-2 Status
The Her-2/neu gene stimulates production of a protein found on the surface of breast cancer cells that tells the cells to grow and divide. In about 25-30% of breast cancers, there are too many copies of the gene or the protein is over expressed on the cell surface, causing the cancer to grow faster and be more aggressive. Breast tumors are routinely tested, by one of two available tests, to see if they have too many copies of the gene or over express the protein. The immunohistochemistry (IHC) test looks for over expression of the protein and is reported as a number from 0 to +3. Zero and +1 are considered Her 2 negative, +2 is borderline and +3 is considered Her 2 positive. The second test, called FISH (or fluorescent in situ hybridization), examines the tumor for extra copies of the Her 2 gene and is reported as positive or negative. Patients with a +2 (borderline) result on IHC, should have the FISH test done in addition to clarify the borderline result as positive or negative. Her 2 positive tumors may be treated with medications, called monoclonal antibodies, targeting the Her 2 protein.
Oncotype DX Test
More than half of the people in the U.S. who are diagnosed with breast cancer have estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+), lymph-node-negative cancer. This means that the cancer’s growth is fueled by the hormone estrogen, and it can be treated with hormonal therapies that block or lower estrogen. It also means that the cancer has not spread from the original tumor site to the lymph nodes. Negative lymph nodes are a good sign: if there is no evidence of cancer cells in the lymph nodes, then the cancer most likely is limited to the breast.
If you find yourself in this group of people, you may wonder whether or not you really need chemotherapy in addition to hormonal therapy. Both chemotherapy and hormonal therapy are systemic treatments (medications that travel throughout the entire body) given to help reduce the risk that the cancer will return or spread. Studies have shown that chemotherapy offers added benefit for only a fraction of people with early-stage (stage I or II), node-negative, ER+ cancer who take hormonal therapy. That’s because only a small number of these early cancers pose a high risk of recurring or spreading outside the breast.
The Oncotype DX test may be able to help you and your doctor determine whether or not the cancer is:
likely to recur
likely to benefit from chemotherapy
The results of this test, combined with other features of the cancer, can help you make a more informed decision about whether or not to have chemotherapy</p>
Thanks so much Heart!0 -
Thanks everyone for the
Thanks everyone for the response on this...survives it looks like the only thing they agree on is that you have to look at the indivual itself to see if they need rads or not but thank you for all the info...it was helpful.
Heartofsoul thanks for the detailed info too...it makes a difference if you can read your pathology report even thou mine is lacking information that i now need to get from my new oncologist. thank you!0
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