Im new to this site

tabi · November 2003

I was dx March 12, I had rt mastectomy with expander April 1st 03. My tumor size was 2.3cc with a 1/2mm in 1 node, Im er/pr-, her2-, but a grade 3. I have completed 6 rounds of ellence and cytoxin and I am on my 8th round of a weekly taxotere. I am 35 years old or young.. I have been reading this site since April and wanted to thank all of you for you stories and experience. I was wondering if anyone could help, here is my question. I went ahead with the expander at the same time as my mastectomy because my surgeon told me that I would not need radiation..Will after surgery she said she wants me to have radiation (bc she felt like she did not cut enough)my plastic surgeon and onc read all the reports and they do not agree???But I want to do everything I can to prevent reoccurance..If I go ahead with the radiation how is this going to affect my tissue expansion. I m sorry I'm just rambling..Oh one more thing has anyone had Ellence in place of adri ??not sure how to spell it. Onc said it was shown to be easier on your heart??Thanks Tabi

jeancmici · November 2003

Tabi,
I don't know about your main question concerning expanders since I had a lumpectomy and the standard Adriamycin but the Ellence is actually Adriamycin introduced into the body in a solution which is supposed to make it just as effective and easier on the heart. Certainly hope they have it right on both counts - that's what the trials showed. I think it was too new to use when I got my 'poisons'!

Welcome to the forum.
jean - one of the old timers :-)

jake10 · November 2003

Welcome! You sound like you have been through alot. As far as the radiation and the expanders/implants, there is no yes or no answer to the question. It depends on the number of treatments and your skin's sensativity and how much you burn.
As far as if you need radiation or not, I kind of think the surgeon would have the best feel about how contained or difuse the cancer was. I think I would go with his/her recommendation. Beth

hillbillycat · November 2003

Hi ,I had a lumpectomy and can`t help you with the expander problem but I do take Ellence which also goes by epirupicin. I seem to do fine on this .I have 4 more to go since there are 6 x chemo compared to 4x chemo with Adriomycin. My surgeon wanted me to have only radiation but my onc.wanted me to have chemo.Even when I went to the Radiologist he suggested chemo first,then radiation. So I am taking the chemo,then radiation ,and then tomaxofen.It is hard to feel at peace when there is a controversy over such a major decision.....

DeeNY711 · November 2003

Tabi, ask the breast surgeon to schedule a consultation for you with the radiation oncologist from whom you would be receiving treatments. Physicians who are breast surgeons know breast surgery, plastic surgeons know plastic surgery, oncologists know oncology, and I am beginning to suspect that internists know nothing. However, a radiation oncologist will be able to answer all of your questions about radiation and the expander, and will explain your full array of options so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to have radiation therapy.
Hugs,
Denise

blossomtime · November 2003

I had my mastectomy in june 2002 and had tissue expanders at the same time. I a large tumor 4.5cm, had 6 pos nodes and am also er/pr neg and her 2 pos, 3+. After my chemo I had 25 radiation treatments. It was decided that based on size of tumor, number of nodes pos, that I had a 20% chance of chest wall recurrence. I had my implants place in june 2003 and in about 3 weeks will have areolar reconstruction. So far so good. I think the negatives that they worry about is that the radiation could damage the tissue so that it would predispose you to encapsulation. I also knew that if things dont turn out well you can always go back and have tram flap. I know that is alot more surgery but at the start of this whole thing, it was more than I wanted to do. So far I havent regretted a thing that I have done. Good luck to you. Sharon

DeeNY711 · November 2003

Tabi, I just remembered something else. I had the first consultation with the radiation oncologist prior to my surgery. He advised me that if I wanted to have implants or reconstruction, it would be best to do that before radiation because radiation can affect the elasticity of the skin and sometimes narrow one's options for reconstruction. I chose not to have implants or tram flaps because I just wanted everything healed as quickly as possible post-op in order to start chemotherapy as soon after as feasible. However, I do remember now that the recommendation was made to have implants or tram flaps before radiation if I wanted reconstruction.
Hugs,
Denise

tabi · December 2003

Thanks so much. I don't know what took me so long to write, but Im glad I did. Do you all ever feel quilty if you don't think about having cancer every day..Some days I feel great and almost normal..

DeeNY711 · December 2003

tabi said:
Thanks so much. I don't know what took me so long to write, but Im glad I did. Do you all ever feel quilty if you don't think about having cancer every day..Some days I feel great and almost normal..

Celebrate the fact that you feel great and almost normal!

Im new to this site

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