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Well ,deep breath, only you can answer this question, mine was grade two and having looked at the paper work on possible side effects given to me by oncologist it was a no from me given it would /might make me ill for 6 months possible hosp admissions upset family life and then given no guarantees cancer would not come back some where else I said no and optima also came back 2 weeks later and said no, but at the end of the day you can ask 100 people but it is only you can make this choice.If you need chemo to save your life then you have no choice.   

Bless you!  What a nightmare and having to make major decisions at this time cannot be easy.  If oncologist leaves the choice to you then I would ask, what’s the best option? As we age looks become less important (I had no hesitation in being ‘flat’ after mastectomy. Had I been 20yrs younger I may have wanted implants). Quality of life on chemo is hard but only for a few days for some. My friend after 6 has tolerated it brilliantly, me, by Day 9 I’m back to myself but lethargic and no taste. Guidance and questioning with family and clinicians may be a way forward for you. At the end of the day, it’s your body but if there’s an option of harsh treatment over non, I would def pick treatment. Don’t screw yourself up trying to decide. Speak to the powers that be.   

Hi 

What a difficult choice you face and I understand why you are undecided. My results were such that chemo was not recommended but had they been I was going to ask for the oncotype test for more info. If you have the means ( I think it is circa £3k) you could consider that as aware not all hospitals offer it. If you do go down that route you would have to be prepared for the possibility of that not being conclusive however if scores are in that grey area

I don't have the answer for you but do send my best wishes.  Whatever decision you do make has to feel OK for you 

Much love xx

Take a look at NHS Predict Breast ahead of your appointment. You enter basic info about you and your cancer and it shows survival rates with and without various treatments. If the survival difference is very small, or very large, it’s a no brainier. Otherwise you are weighing up the benefit versus impact. You then have a basis for talking it through with the oncologist.  

As an example, predict breast indicates that chemo reduces my likelihood of death from cancer within 5 years from 16% to 10%. Set against that at my age there’s a 3% risk of death from chemo toxicities plus the quality of life impact of feeling crap for 5 months and the risk of long term health impairment from chemo. I See the oncologist next week and am hoping am hoping she can bring more nuance to it.  On the data I have at the moment I am tending to a no in my situation. 

Whatever you do decide you do need to be able to live with it. If you don’t have chemo and have a recurrence, it doesn’t mean chemo would have prevented it. 

Totally agree its certainly opens up a discussion on the pro and cons of the subject. But overall its my decision to make. I appreciate explaining your experience I wasn't aware you could say no on optima thought pretty much you signed up you go through with it. I'm still borderline on deciding no chemo. Just wanted to explain its not for everyone but it does save lives. So please don't take it that I'm not in favour of it. Just nor for me x

Thank you and yes I totally agree weighing up the predict score and considering the factors I'd have to live with that decision. X