Breast cancer grade 3

Hi Rader123  - you sound as if you are in the same position as I am.  I also had to have axillary node removal with 6 more nodes affected.  This meant that I am now going through chemo and am halfway through with an end date in sight. Same as you with the CT scan - which was good news.  I know how you feel as I was exactly the same and had a major meltdown when they said chemo would be a good idea to mop up any potential stray cancer cells.  The thought of losing my hair and side effects really got to me but I can honestly say that it hasn't been as bad as I initially thought.  I have lost hair although I had the cold cap for the first 2 sessions and fatigue has affected me.  It  is ok to be afraid of the thought of chemo as I definitely was but I am now glad and grateful to be going through it as I have not suffered too badly.  My life is relatively normal (if there is such a thing at the moment).  The support I have received from the hospital and nursing staff has helped me to get to this point.  Hope that this helps.  

Hi JED12, do you mind me asking what the name of the chemo drug you had was?  The reason I ask is that I wondered if carboplatin may be an option for some breast cancer patients as carboplatin does not cause a person to lose their hair and for most people it is extremely well tolerated but does the job of mopping up any stray cancer cells and I wondered if that might be an option for Rader123

Hi - I haven't been on carboplatin.  The frist 3 cycles were EC and now I am on Paclitaxel.  I wasn't offered carboplatin at all and sadly I have lost most of my hair now.  On saying that I am tolerating both types of chemo so not too bad so far.  Hope that you are able to get the option you prefer.

Hi 

Hi

I had Stage 2 Grade 2 Hormone positive HER2 negative with 1 of the 2 nodes they took positive. I also had an axial node clearance and negative CT scan. I didn’t have any more positive nodes so it was deemed. O chemo necessary - it’s not a forgone conclusion I don’t think. I am about to start radiotherapy and am on my 3rd month of anastrazole. I had resigned myself to chemo after the positive node result but pleased to have been able to avoid it. Fingers crossed you get a similar result xx

I was told by my oncologist that I needed to have a 5% added survival benefit to have chemo. If it was less than 5% they would consider an oncotype test. If my oncotype score was above a certain number I would be offered chemo. In the end I had 16 weeks of chemo (every 2 weeks for 8 cycles). It wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined and time flew by faster than expected. I guess it will all become much clearer once you have the results from your next surgery. In the end it is entirely your choice whether or not to have chemotherapy. Good luck for your surgery and wishing you a speedy recovery xxx

I was grade 2 & stage 2, hormone positive & HER2 negative with 3 affected lymph nodes. I dreaded the thought of chemo & at the time would have done anything I could to avoid it. I eventually agreed very reluctantly after long discussions with my oncologist & my senior chemo nurse. I have to say that I did hate every moment of it BUT I did not suffer any serious side effects & the whole experience was not as bad as I feared. And now I am so glad that I did go through with it as I know that I have done everything that was asked of me to reduce the risk of recurrence. The negative CT & bone scans are very comforting but there is the risk of the odd stray cell around the body which these will not show. The chemo is designed to zap these little ninjas! 
Regardingthe % benefit of chemo, I was told that if under 3% the downsides outweigh the benefits & if over 5% then chemo is definitely recommended. Between 3% & 5% is a ‘grey area’ but the oncologists will still recommend. My benefit was 3.9%, so that made it even harder for me! Good luck with making your decision & do speak to your oncologist if you want further information to help you to decide 

Yes though I think the higher grade may make the difference. If its borderline it will be hard to make the choice.

Thank you, this is very helpful. My anxiety is quite high right now. 

Thanks, I will look into oncotype tests. Its good to hear more positive stories about chemo though.