Newly diagnosed ER & PR positive

Hi Sowa

welcome to the forum, though I’m sorry you’ve ended up here, especially after losing your sister which must make this extra difficult.  But you will find lots of other people who have gone through or are going through treatment, and who will be happy to share their experiences.  

Do you have a treatment plan yet?  I think most of us feel better once we know the plan and are getting on with it.  I also had ER/PR positive, grade 2 cancer and went through the whole works of surgery, chemo, radiotherapy and now daily hormone pills.  But lots of women (and men!) don’t need all that.  In any case, you will find folk on here who can probably answer any questions you have.  Best wishes xxx

Thank you for taking the trouble to reply. It’s really appreciated. I am seeing the surgeon on Wednesday so I’ll know more then but I was told yesterday that they are recommending a lumpectomy and then Letrozole or Tamoxifen for 10 years. I’m aware that might change once I’ve had surgery.

I felt relatively positive with the news yesterday but hearing you have the same type as me and had to endure chemo and radiotherapy and now hormone pills is a bit of a shock. Hopefully  you’ve got peace of mind that you’ve done everything possible to stop it coming back. I truly wish you the best of luck. 

Once again, thank you for replying. It’s a nice feeling knowing there are lovely people out there that want to help xxx

Hi Sowa

I had a screening detected 8mm Grade 2 breast cancer highly ER and PR+ . No spread to lymph nodes and no surprises post surgery which I'm grateful for

I was fortunate in my lumpectomy got good margins and so had a single op then 5 sessions of whole breast radiotherapy. Plus 5 years of Anastrozole. My op was December and finished RT early Feb so super quick. Had two short blocks off work post surgery and during RT . I'm 57 and getting back to some sense of normality ( albeit it with stiffer joints! )  

Breast cancer is so individual I have learnt so each person's treatment is tailored to them and I'm sure your team will do what's needed. My RT and Anastrozole were about reducing future recurrence risk as surgery was consudered curative for me and hopefully will be for you too 

Best wishes xxx

Sorry I shocked you Sowa, that definitely wasn’t my intention!  Try not to worry about treatments you may well not need.  ER positive breast cancer is very common and, as you’ll see from this site, loads of women are treated successfully with lumpectomy followed by a few years of taking daily pills.  My mum (lumpectomy and tamoxifen) is doing fine over 25 years on.

And if you do need additional treatments well, in my personal experience (I obviously can’t speak for everyone!) they weren’t that bad.  Ok there were aspects of chemo that weren’t exactly a picnic, but I’d definitely do it all again if I had to.  But fingers crossed your treatment plan will be quicker and simpler! 

Hi jurassicgirl

Thank you for sharing your story with me. I will be pleased if my journey goes as yours did. I’m 55 and mine is 12mm so not so different to you. Sending positive vibes to you and the best of luck going forward xxx

Please don’t be sorry, I found your reply really helpful. I am trying to be realistic in that there is a possibility that I may have to go through what you did. Fingers crossed that I have the same experience as Jurassicgirl. I really appreciate your comments and it’s great to hear that you’re doing so well now xxx