Pathology starting to come in

TraciInLA said:

While I'm never gonna say that breast cancer is "good"...

...if you have to deal with it, these results are good news!

• stage 1 - good!
• no lymph node involvement - good!
• hormone receptor positive - good! (that means you can take Arimidex, which gives you another weapon to fight this with)

I'm so sorry, Maggie, that it looks like you'll still have to do chemo again, and yes, having to deal with more cancer after 10 years in the fight would make anyone feel discouraged -- but I'm glad to see that you and your doctors have a plan, and it seems very do-able.  We're here with you, every step.

Traci

 

Traci I am sitting in my bed with my laptop bawling my eyes out reading your message.  I feel overwhelmed, terrified....discouraged and bummed out.  Thank you thank you for your words.....I know somewhere the message from the onc is good.....just as you pointed out but just now I feel old and tired and I do not know if I can learn all this new stuff and eat enough calcium to use the arimidex and and and............thank you for your help.  Sometimes I do not know how people or why people fight cancer without these wonderful forums......

send me some sun Traci and I'll send you a load of snowflakes

hug....mags

Puffin2014 said:

oncotype test

The oncotype test is not related to the herceptin status. If you're HERS+ you'd get herceptin, that should already be on your path report. The oncotype will test about 26 genes from the tumor and tells how aggressive the tumor was, and whether chemo is likely to be effective, doctors use it to decide if chemo will be used. It's scored from 0-100, scores 10 or less mean chemo not indicated, scores 30 and above definitely get chemo, scores in the middle determined by you and your doctor. My score was 27 and I got chemo. Generally chemo is used if scores are 25 and higher.

So, there's still a chance you can skip the chemo, praying you get a low score.

thanks so very much Puffin.....another step in my understanding......yes here is hoping for a low score.....

mags

Double Whammy said:

Oncotype test

I had pretty darn similar initial pathology as yours - Stage 1b, node negative, grade 2, ER/PR+, HER-2 neg.  I was surprised when they told me they would do an oncotype test primiarly because I'd never heard of it before, and I was told from the getgo that probably lumpectomy, radiation, and Arimidex would be my treatment regimen.  I learned that the oncotype test is really such  a good test and it spares so many women from having to undergo chemotherapy.  Unfortunately, my score was 31 - right at the low end of the high risk area, but still over 30.  So I was advised to have chemo.  And I did.  But I hope you don't have to undergo any more chemo.  Enough is enough. 

Hoping for a really low number on your oncotype test - like how about 5?  When will you get your results?

Suzanne

I love your user name Suzanne.....maybe I will think of myself as Double Whammy Too.  My oncotype will not be back for a month.....so well into Feb.  and they are going to have to redo Her2 because the results were unclear......so I wait for about another 3-4 weeks.  If I have to do chemo this will land me right in the middle of my twice annual testing for mets from the colon cancer......don't ask me how that will all work  out....let's just call it a double wham!   oh I love it Suzanne and I thank you for taking the time to write.  Our histories are very similar and this is so comforting......so so many women struggling with the same disease and yet so many variations.

many hugs, mags