Having mixed feelings

cahjah75
cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I'm having such mixed feelings. I felt so prepared going into surgery and am healing nicely at home. However, because of my biopsy report my oncology surgeon thought I would definitely need chemo and radiation following bilateral mastectomies. I had my post surgery appt with him on Tuesday and he gave me some really great news.... He went over the whole pathology report of each breast. I had no lymph node involvement and margins were clean so he told me I didn't have to have any chemo or radiation! OMG, I thought I had heard him wrong.... I have been taking notes from all of you in preparation of chemo and radiation. I'm still not sure how I should be feeling. I see the oncologist in 2 weeks to discuss taking Tamoxifen (or other) for 5 years. I'm just afraid he may say something different than my surgeon. Have any of you experienced this?
Char

Comments

  • Ritzy
    Ritzy Member Posts: 4,381 Member
    Well, I think you should be
    Well, I think you should be happy! No chemo or rads! But, I do understand how you are confused now after you were first told you needed them and now do not.

    I would assume that your oncologist will only verify your surgeons recommendation. I certainly hope so.

    About your question if this happened to me, no. My oncologist and my plastic surgeon both agreed on my lumpectomy followed by rads.

    I am suppose to take tamoxifen, but, haven't gotten the courage to take it yet.

    I wish you good luck and let us know what you find out.

    Sue :)
  • Christine Louise
    Christine Louise Member Posts: 426 Member
    Suddenly switching gears
    After preparing for bad news for so long, you've suddenly been knocked off the path you thought you were on. It turns out to be good -- great! -- but it's still jarring and unsettling. And, you don't know if you feel you can trust the unexpected news. I would feel confused, too!

    Let the good news sink in and you'll start to feel better, I'll bet. Plus, it won't be too long until the onc can verify the surgeon's opinion.

    I hope you are enjoying kicking back -- or dancing -- with NED quite soon, Char.
  • Skeezie
    Skeezie Member Posts: 586 Member

    Suddenly switching gears
    After preparing for bad news for so long, you've suddenly been knocked off the path you thought you were on. It turns out to be good -- great! -- but it's still jarring and unsettling. And, you don't know if you feel you can trust the unexpected news. I would feel confused, too!

    Let the good news sink in and you'll start to feel better, I'll bet. Plus, it won't be too long until the onc can verify the surgeon's opinion.

    I hope you are enjoying kicking back -- or dancing -- with NED quite soon, Char.

    I had something similiar....
    After my mastectomy my biopsy came back "no evidence of any cancel cells in breast tissue". My surgeon said that meant I would only need chemo (my nodes were clear from an earlier Sentinel Node biopsy) and no rads. When I went to see my onc to set up the chemo she concurred and also said no rads...so I was a very happy camper. But I too had a few days of hoping she wouldn't say anything different.

    I think when your surgeon is experienced in breast cancer they pretty much know exactly what is going on, at least mine did and I was thrilled!

    Congrats, that is really great news!

    Hugs, Judy :-)
  • susie09
    susie09 Member Posts: 2,930

    Suddenly switching gears
    After preparing for bad news for so long, you've suddenly been knocked off the path you thought you were on. It turns out to be good -- great! -- but it's still jarring and unsettling. And, you don't know if you feel you can trust the unexpected news. I would feel confused, too!

    Let the good news sink in and you'll start to feel better, I'll bet. Plus, it won't be too long until the onc can verify the surgeon's opinion.

    I hope you are enjoying kicking back -- or dancing -- with NED quite soon, Char.

    Confused? Yea, I would be!
    Confused? Yea, I would be! You were already for the bad news and it turned around on you and became good news. It would rattle you.

    Like Christine said, let the good news settle in. And, I bet your oncologist will just verify the good news and then you can really feel happy!


    ♠♣ Susie ♠♣
  • greyhoundluvr
    greyhoundluvr Member Posts: 402
    Char -
    I agree that is really great news and i hope that you hear the same thing from your oncologist!! My only thought would be, did your surgeon or oncologist say anything about the oncootype test?? In my case, when I met with my oncologist prior to my bilateral, she told me that the final determining factor as to whether I would need chemo after surgery would be the oncoptype test which would further evaluate the tumor and determine the probability of recurrence. If there was a low score - no chemo; if it was high - chemo; if it was in the middle - we would have to decide what to do. I don't want to be a downer - just wasn't sure if this is something they were looking at doing in your case. Lots of hugs and prayers that this is the final part of the journey for you!

    Chris
  • roseann4
    roseann4 Member Posts: 992 Member

    Char -
    I agree that is really great news and i hope that you hear the same thing from your oncologist!! My only thought would be, did your surgeon or oncologist say anything about the oncootype test?? In my case, when I met with my oncologist prior to my bilateral, she told me that the final determining factor as to whether I would need chemo after surgery would be the oncoptype test which would further evaluate the tumor and determine the probability of recurrence. If there was a low score - no chemo; if it was high - chemo; if it was in the middle - we would have to decide what to do. I don't want to be a downer - just wasn't sure if this is something they were looking at doing in your case. Lots of hugs and prayers that this is the final part of the journey for you!

    Chris

    Great advice from Chris.
    I'm a real advocate for the OncoTypeDX test. It has only been available since 2004 and there is only one place in the world that provides it. It is only done when the we are node negative so sounds like you are a candidate for it. Node negative is a big deal in the breast cancer world so that's very good news.

    Roseann
  • Hope 2010
    Hope 2010 Member Posts: 62
    I'm still in the process to
    I'm still in the process to determine treatment, but my surgeon went over my pathology report (post surgery 5/28) and he told me that I would just need radiation, (lymph nodes clear) only because mine was so close to my chest muscle (only had a .9mm clearance). My surgeon also mentioned that once the rads were done, then he would prescribe the Tamoxifen.

    After I visited with the radiation oncologist, she refer to me to talk with an oncologist, mainly because of my age (premenopause) and the fact that I found the lump on my own. It's more of a just to make sure... Yesterday, I met with the oncologist and he recommended the Onco DX test, just to see if I should also have chemo. If it's high, I should have it - if it's low, no need -- if it's in the gray area then we need to discuss to decide.

    Personally, I wasn't really sure if I needed to see the oncologist because I trust my surgeons opinion. But it's my life at stake and I wanted to see what he had to say...but like you I'm afraid of what he's going to recommend. Actually in my meeting with the oncologist, he asked, "do you know why the radiation oncologist referred you to me?" My answer, "no, but I'm thinking it may be a mistake to be here." ;) I was torn between trusting what my surgeon was telling me and what a 'cancer specialist' would tell me. So right now I'm in limbo on my treatment until he gets the test results back. I have another appt with the oncologist in 2 weeks to find out the results of my test and go from there on my treatment plan.

    Good luck with your appt and keep me posted.

    Patty
  • DianeBC
    DianeBC Member Posts: 3,881 Member
    Hope 2010 said:

    I'm still in the process to
    I'm still in the process to determine treatment, but my surgeon went over my pathology report (post surgery 5/28) and he told me that I would just need radiation, (lymph nodes clear) only because mine was so close to my chest muscle (only had a .9mm clearance). My surgeon also mentioned that once the rads were done, then he would prescribe the Tamoxifen.

    After I visited with the radiation oncologist, she refer to me to talk with an oncologist, mainly because of my age (premenopause) and the fact that I found the lump on my own. It's more of a just to make sure... Yesterday, I met with the oncologist and he recommended the Onco DX test, just to see if I should also have chemo. If it's high, I should have it - if it's low, no need -- if it's in the gray area then we need to discuss to decide.

    Personally, I wasn't really sure if I needed to see the oncologist because I trust my surgeons opinion. But it's my life at stake and I wanted to see what he had to say...but like you I'm afraid of what he's going to recommend. Actually in my meeting with the oncologist, he asked, "do you know why the radiation oncologist referred you to me?" My answer, "no, but I'm thinking it may be a mistake to be here." ;) I was torn between trusting what my surgeon was telling me and what a 'cancer specialist' would tell me. So right now I'm in limbo on my treatment until he gets the test results back. I have another appt with the oncologist in 2 weeks to find out the results of my test and go from there on my treatment plan.

    Good luck with your appt and keep me posted.

    Patty

    Big congrats on the good
    Big congrats on the good news of NO chemo!

    Hugs, Diane
  • jo jo
    jo jo Member Posts: 1,175
    Char congrads on the no
    Char congrads on the no chemo or rads.
    I went through this, before my mastectomy they told me i wouldnt have to go through chemo or rads and just take tamoxifen for 5 years...well after the surgery they changed their minds cuz they ended up taking 12 nodes with positive results and they were certain that it hadnt reached my nodes up to that point...so needless to say i went through chemo and still 5 years of tamoxifen, but no rads.
    This is great news for you!!!
  • cahjah75
    cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
    thanks
    thanks for all your comments. Chris, I will definitely have to ask about the OncotypeDx test. What is it and should I ask my surgeon or the oncologist? For now I'm letting his words sink in and very grateful. I guess I may still be a tiny bit nervous until I see the oncologist. I saw a post today that unnerved me though. After 1 year post surgery a biopsy of lymph nodes under the arm tested positive for cancer. My heart breaks for her.
    Char
  • survivorbc09
    survivorbc09 Member Posts: 4,374 Member
    cahjah75 said:

    thanks
    thanks for all your comments. Chris, I will definitely have to ask about the OncotypeDx test. What is it and should I ask my surgeon or the oncologist? For now I'm letting his words sink in and very grateful. I guess I may still be a tiny bit nervous until I see the oncologist. I saw a post today that unnerved me though. After 1 year post surgery a biopsy of lymph nodes under the arm tested positive for cancer. My heart breaks for her.
    Char

    Congrats Char! Good
    Congrats Char! Good news!



    Hugs,Jan
  • MNLynn
    MNLynn Member Posts: 224
    roseann4 said:

    Great advice from Chris.
    I'm a real advocate for the OncoTypeDX test. It has only been available since 2004 and there is only one place in the world that provides it. It is only done when the we are node negative so sounds like you are a candidate for it. Node negative is a big deal in the breast cancer world so that's very good news.

    Roseann

    Oncotype Dx test
    I was lymph node positive, and did have the Oncotype Dx test done - and it did make a difference for me for chemo. I was scheduled to start chemo on 3/30, but the test said I had a low recurrence rate. I, also, wasn't sure what to think - for a month & a half I thought I'd be getting chemo - and I had read that the test was based on node negative women. I kept my "pre-chemo" appt with my medical oncologist just to have her reassure me that we were on the right track by not doing chemo (which she did). Then, I originally didn't think I'd be getting radiation, but both my oncologists didn't like how close the tumor was to the chest wall, so I went in for that. Things change . . . and I needed a lot of reassurances during that time to convince me that we were making the right decisions to keep this cancer from coming back.
  • MNLynn
    MNLynn Member Posts: 224
    Hope 2010 said:

    I'm still in the process to
    I'm still in the process to determine treatment, but my surgeon went over my pathology report (post surgery 5/28) and he told me that I would just need radiation, (lymph nodes clear) only because mine was so close to my chest muscle (only had a .9mm clearance). My surgeon also mentioned that once the rads were done, then he would prescribe the Tamoxifen.

    After I visited with the radiation oncologist, she refer to me to talk with an oncologist, mainly because of my age (premenopause) and the fact that I found the lump on my own. It's more of a just to make sure... Yesterday, I met with the oncologist and he recommended the Onco DX test, just to see if I should also have chemo. If it's high, I should have it - if it's low, no need -- if it's in the gray area then we need to discuss to decide.

    Personally, I wasn't really sure if I needed to see the oncologist because I trust my surgeons opinion. But it's my life at stake and I wanted to see what he had to say...but like you I'm afraid of what he's going to recommend. Actually in my meeting with the oncologist, he asked, "do you know why the radiation oncologist referred you to me?" My answer, "no, but I'm thinking it may be a mistake to be here." ;) I was torn between trusting what my surgeon was telling me and what a 'cancer specialist' would tell me. So right now I'm in limbo on my treatment until he gets the test results back. I have another appt with the oncologist in 2 weeks to find out the results of my test and go from there on my treatment plan.

    Good luck with your appt and keep me posted.

    Patty

    surgeon vs oncologist
    I know, for me, I had the most wonderful surgeon - and he is specifically a "breast surgeon" - working with breast cancer. I hung on his every word during the time that I saw him. I was also scheduled to see radiation & medical oncologists right from the start of my "journey". When I asked my surgeon about post-surgery treatments, he just said that he would have to go along with whatever the oncologists recommended. Also, I know that the surgeons/oncologists/cancer care people meet weekly to discuss cancer cases - so that they were aware of what each other was thinking regarding treatments.
  • MNLynn
    MNLynn Member Posts: 224
    cahjah75 said:

    thanks
    thanks for all your comments. Chris, I will definitely have to ask about the OncotypeDx test. What is it and should I ask my surgeon or the oncologist? For now I'm letting his words sink in and very grateful. I guess I may still be a tiny bit nervous until I see the oncologist. I saw a post today that unnerved me though. After 1 year post surgery a biopsy of lymph nodes under the arm tested positive for cancer. My heart breaks for her.
    Char

    Onco Dx
    It was my medical oncologist who ordered the Oncotype Dx test for me . . .
  • Kylez
    Kylez Member Posts: 3,761 Member
    MNLynn said:

    Onco Dx
    It was my medical oncologist who ordered the Oncotype Dx test for me . . .

    First, congrats! I didn't
    First, congrats! I didn't have the Oncotype test. Good luck if you do have it!