I have a diagnosis following surgery of ductal grade 3 cancer. I’ve been told this is borderline for chemo. I’m worried what this means realistically and wondered if anyone with this diagnosis could advise. Thank you
Hi Sni,, so sorry you are going through this, I am not sure what they mean when they say borderline for Chemo. Maybe they need to do more tests. I was told I would need chemo as it had spread to my lymph nodes. I think people sometimes panic when they hear the words Chemo but the treatments are much improved and I have friends that have worked and exersised throughout. Mine starts in Feb /march and I have been advised to get as fit and healthy as I can, so am running and eating well. Although just had lymph node clearance so no running for a week. When you get a treatment plan it will be better, it is the waiting around that is the worst. Big hugs Anna Xx
Thanks Anna. I wish you well with your treatment and you sound very positive which is great. Hope the running goes well and you recover from the op quickly. My lymph nodes were clear but I think because it is grade 3 they are doing extra tests. They are doing a Oncytype (I might have spelt that incorrectly) test before they decide. You are right though the waiting is awful.
a warm welcome to the online community, though of course sorry you have a reason to be here. The oncotype test might give you a better idea of whether chemo is going to be worth it- it will basically come back with a number that tells you what the improvement will be if you have chemo. Some cancers used to be routinely treated with chemo but now, the test gives a clearer picture of whether that will give a benefit or not depending on the individual pathology of the cancer. The medical team are always weighing up the benefit versus the risk. Chemo comes with it's own risks, so if there isn't much for you to gain from having it, then your team won't recommend it. Surgery is far and away the most effective treatment for breast cancer and the other treatments like chemo and radiotherapy are a sort of mopping up or safeguard.
My cancer was grade 2 but there were 3 tumours and it had spread to my lymph nodes so chemo was a no-brainer for me.
Should you find that you do need chemo, don't worry - it isn't always as bad as you think - I also kept running through my chemo though I couldn't work as I teach and it was too big an infection risk. In all honesty, I found chemo to be the easiest part of my treatment, but we are all different.
Hope you don't have to wait too long for your results - we are here for you in the meantime - we are some times a pretty good distraction!
