Hi

It's your choice of course. I also prefer not to take too many medications, but there have been enormous advances in understanding what does and doesn't work for cancer, which is why more people survive now. Breast cancer in particular has significant funding for research so they know what works and what doesn't work.

Cancer kills people. There is currently no magic cure, only treatment. Unfortunately, that treatment also damages healthy cells, but if we're lucky, we recover and the cancer dies.

I am taking everything my team offer as they know my cancer much better than I do and I really want to live. I had chemo, lumpectomy, radiotherapy and now on 3 years of bisphosphonates and 5 years of hormone blockers which put me into menopause. I'm doing fine, enjoying life again and adjusting to the new me. The alternative is far worse.

Maybe rather than thinking of how tough the drugs are, why don't you consider how you'd feel if you refused some treatment and the cancer got worse or came back in years to come and was then terminal. Would you be happy with your decisions then? Only you can make these choices but thinking them through with various scenarios may help your decision-making.

Morning, 

I’m sorry you find yourself here but it’s a great resource for support and has helped massively on this journey. 

I am similar in mindset about filling body with drugs and likewise had more appointments in the last 6 months than the last 48 years prior! However, this is Cancer and I’m drawing out the big guns and letting the research do the fighting with me. I am so thankful to the NHS and all the treatments I have had. I’ve finished 6 months of Chemo and was lucky with side effects, I didn’t need any of the extra drugs to counteract the side effects but they are there to support your body and lessen the impact of the Chemo on your quality of life through treatment and I would have taken them if I needed to. I do think that environmental impacts and the way we live has a great deal to do with the rise in Cancer and will look more closely at what I eat how I live etc in the hope of never having to go through this again but I can not change the external world and will take all the help I can get to beat this. 

I would stay off Google unless you are on cancer reasearch or Macmillan site as there is a whole wrath of information that’s outdated or not properly researched. 

I do hope you are ok and can say, take it one day at a time and you will get through. Xxxx

I totally agree with you about medications and preferring to avoid them if possible. Like you I was not taking any medication until three years ago when just by accident I discovered I had a fractured vertebrae ( discovered during MRI for something else!). I then got prescribed biophosphates for osteoporosis which I hated taking. I stopped after six months because I felt so awful but my GP persuaded me to have a chat to a consultant and this convinced me to try different brand. So far no side effects after 2 plus years. Then the bombshell of cancer diagnosis. I hate the thought of being on Hormone Therapy for five years but will give it a go. Only two weeks on tablets so early days. At 74 I want my remaining years to be as good as possible so if the tablets seriously affect my quality of life I will definitely consider stopping them. I think if I was much younger I would think differently and would take anything if it gave me more chance of the cancer not returning. I can’t begin to imagine how people cope with chemo but somehow they do. All we can do is trust the medical profession and aim to get through this battle as best we can. We are all on this path together and no one size fits all so we must do what we feel is right for us. It is so good to share all these different views though and it helps so much to be in contact with other cancer patients.

Evajean x

I hope all goes well for you at appointment, Im just waiting to see oncology to find out if I have chemo then radiation or just radiation x

Thanks for your wise words.  It is all such a rollercoaster ride.  The bit I have struggled with most is you think you know where guard and the plan of action moving forwards only for it to change.  Think I have discovered as you say one day at a time but I am a planner and function better when I know the path ahead.  So whatever the results next week will be good as I finally fondout

Lovely to hear a likeminded view and let’s hope your tablets are ok for you.  I know they can switch tablets too if side effects are too bad.  Also I am told they lessenafter a few mints as your body adjusts to them