Oncotype Score Experience Grade 3 ER+ PR-

Hi Ginger654

Sorry to hear your mum has breast cancer - I wasn't offered Oncotype scoring as just missed the criteria, but was hormone positive so I'd be interested to see if anyone replies as I do wonder what it would have been.  I had no idea really what they use to score the Oncotype.  Hope this bumps your question back up.  Take care and hope your mum's treatment goes well x

Hi Ginger654

I'm all of the above. I had a 32mm tumour and following 6 weeks of Letrozole prior to surgery 8 weeks ago, it had shrunk to 21mm. It was successfully removed with clear margins and negative lymph nodes. Recovery from surgery has been very straightforward and much better than expected. My Oncotype score was 36 so I'm starting 6 cycles of EC Chemotherapy next week, then to be followed by radiotherapy. To be honest, if I had a choice of not having Chemo I would choose to have it anyway as extra insurance. I'm 65 years old but intend to be around for a good while yet! Please give my best wishes to your mum.

Thank you for your reply. I have been reading up on it all (probably way too much!) and it seems having a ER+ PR- for some reason seems to have a worse prognosis for the oncotype score, your score comes down the more hormone receptive the cancer is so I think if you are PR- it limits how low your score could be and the Grade 3 really doesn’t help either! Saying that, they did offer it to my mum and it isn’t a cheap test, so there must be a possibility it could still be low and they may say chemo is not worthwhile. I am pleased they have offered her it, it’s amazing what they can do these days, but what will be will be and if chemo is the way forward we will just have to deal with that. Have you been offered chemo, or was it not necessary? I really hope you are doing well and sorry to hear you were not able to be offered the test if it was something you had wanted.

So glad to hear your surgery was successful and you have been recovering well. I totally get what you mean about chemo – on one hand I am praying she doesn’t need it so she can just move on now and get on with her life, but at the same time I don’t want us to have any ‘what if’ or regret moments in the future – I read (must stop that!!) that we have about 36 trillion cells in our body so I feel like really it’s a miracle if one hasn’t made its way out of there!! Love your attitude – 65 is so young and I wish you a very long and happy life when you are out the other side. I hope chemo isn't too awful for you when you start next week and wish you a very speedy recovery.

Thanks so much. Roll on Winter, looking forward to it!

Yes, they recommended chemo, only one node involved but at age 51 wasn't fully menopausal, so I went with their advice.  I think I was borderline for the Trust I was in.  To echo the comments of others, I've never considered myself unlucky to have chemo, it does take over your life for four months, but you get through it amazingly quickly and then it's done.  As you say, they can do amazing things these days x