Treatment options

Dear Rosaparks 

I can totally relate to this but in the end the decision is entirely yours to make. 

I can  only give you my dilemma and decision. 

Little bit like yourself I was diagnosed with with stage 2 ER+HER negative. I had a lumpectomy in the right breast thought I was lymph nodes free. However they took out 15 and 2 were positive with cancer. 

I spoke to the oncologist who offered me the optima trial of 50/50 chance either chemo or just oestrogen suppressants. 

But because of the nodes being positive I had a scan for spreading. Luckily it hadn't. So I decided to risk no chemo and just have radiotheraphy and tablets. 

Now I'm not saying this is for you. As a lot if my friends on here took the chemo option. It just wasn't for me after 4 weeks of coming and going for appointments I decided to stick to my guns. Talk to your breast care nurse they were fantastic with help and advice. I Hooe this has helped 

Lots of love 

Take care xx 

Totally with you on no chemo had the same given choice, so glad i did not have chemo I really think in a few years they are going to stop giving chemo as a standard go to, for everybody and use it in  targeted groups where it will make a difference rather than looking on a computer and saying we usually recommend chemo with your cancer and look at the person instead. Kind regards   

Hi Rosa 

I donf think the abemaciclib is available for node negative.

I know a friend of mine refused chemo and was given hormone therapy for ten years (still NED), but the prosignja tests weren’t done then, so no idea what he’d recurrence score would hVd been…though she was node positive both sides (bi-lateral bc).

k agree with bwb that Chemo may well prove to be used a lot less for people with hormone positive bc in the future…but the results aren’t there yet so you can only do what you think is best for you based on the info you have.

best of luck xx 

Everyone's different but they said they were going to throw everything at me due to my age and they wanted me to live for decades to come. I'm mid-40s.

I was glad I had chemo, I don't want there to be any 'what ifs'. (Edited to say I had chemo before surgery so knew it was working with significant shrinkage, which was a boost!)

If you look at the NHS predict tool, you'll see that chemo gives you the biggest gains the further into the future you look. It's only a generalised tool of course, but when I took a look, chemo gave me an increased survival rate of something like 3% at 5 years, 4.5% at 10 years and a big 7% at 15 years. The other treatments decline. It only goes up to 15 years but I took from that that it is the chemo that does most for you for long term survival, which is why they offer it to younger people pretty much as routine now.

It is a personal decision though. Did your oncologist talk it all through? 

For me, I think the sudden medical menopause and subsequent aromatase inhibiters have had the biggest impact on my life. It took a good year to recover from chemo as expected, though big gains after the first few months. But the lingering tiredness and the aches and pains are all from hormone blockers, not to mention the hot flushes and night sweats multiple times a day and night, insomnia, changed body... the list goes on.

I figured I was going to go through the menopause anyway but it is a shock to the system. With chemo, you know you're going to feel awful, so you put your life on hold for 6 months and then you recover (especially someone your age). But the hormone blockers changed me forever, I'm never getting my previous levels of oestrogen back, my early menopause is here to stay.

Hi Rosaparks, I too am 39, I had stage 1 ER positive HER negative cancer in my right breast. I had a lumpectamy and node clearance. It had not travelled and the got a clear margin I was told that they wouldnt advise me either way on chemo as I would have to weigh up the benefits and disadvantages and decide for my self. The showed me a graph and told me somethings I 

Hi,

Sorry I can't see the rest of your answer?

Hi Rosaparks, I too am 39, I had stage 1 ER positive HER negative cancer in my right breast. 

I had a lumpectamy and node clearance. It had not travelled and they got a clear margin I was told that they wouldnt advise me either way on chemo as I would have to weigh up the benefits and disadvantages and decide for my self, i felt utterly confused. I went to this appointment alone and a lot of what they said went over my head.

It is hard trying to process all this information and you can feel alone and scared. I have since talked to alot a lot of people some who advise to get some against. I personally decided its not for me, I will be having radiotherapy and will be going on tamoxifen I think that best suits me. Other peoples advice does help but it is up to you to make the best decision for you. I hope this helps and i wish you well on your journey.

Take care and Lots of love xxx

Dear Rosaparks

i can also relate to you- i am 45, grade 3, ER positive 2nd stage ... I was in exactly your shoes 1,5 month ago and thats the hardest decision to make ever.initially i decided not to have chemotherapy,as i heard some really difficult   stories. Then I learned about oncotype dx test(i am recieving treatment privately and my insurance has covered the costs).Unfortunetely in my case DX score came as 40, which is 40 % of chance cancer returning. So I have opted for the chemo and i had my first treatment last week. Not a walk in the park , but it is pretty managable and I am starting regaining my strenght. I have agreed on only 4 EC courses(3 weeks apart) instead of 8 initially suggested, as even my oncologists agreed the outcomes are very similar (about 1-2 % difference). I am as yourself ER positive, hence i will also need hormone treatment-  not a nice thought...

Please look after yourself and always know that you can go half way and negotate hormone/less aggressive chemo protocols too. But in the mean time if you have any chance at all please get oncotype dx test- it helped me to make a decision.

Take good care :-)