Hi I've been diagnosed with HER2 positive grade 3 and the surgeon asked me weather I wanted surgery or chemo first. I opted for chemo however, I am sure I have made the right decision. I am 58 and very over weight. Can anyone advise which option is better?
Hi. Sorry you find yourself here, hopefully you have a support network to help. I was given a triple positive diagnosis in March and had chemo first. By the time I had surgery two weeks ago all the cancer had gone from my lymph nodes and residual disease in the breast they took was 15mm so for me it was the right decision. I had a BMI of 33 when I started treatment, through research I decided to clean up my diet to help my body beat this disease so have been eating a low GI Mediterranean diet. I’ve lost about 10kg in total and BMI was below 30 in time for surgery which definitely helps with recovery.
I think there are pros and cons but for HER2 there seems to be benefit from doing chemo first to treat the whole body. They can also use your breast as a barometer for how well your cancer responds to the drugs. I was on EC to start but after an MRi showed stable disease they switched me to Docetaxel which did start shrinking the tumours. They wouldn’t have had that information if I’d opted for surgery first. Best of luck x
I had chemo first for Her2 positive grade 2. I wasn't given the choice of what I had just told that chemo would be first to shrink the tumour then surgery after chemo was finished. As the tumour had shrunk there was less to remove in surgery.
I had taste issues during chemo with everything even water tasting of metal. There were days when I could not eat much and so anything I could eat I did but I tried not to worry about it,
I read a lot about foods that were worth eating, chucked out any junk and really went for a healthier diet. I have since lost 17 kgs. I walked every day without fail sometimes just to the end of the road and back and then increased the distance as time went on. This took a big effort at times but come rain or shine I went out. It aided my recovery of that I am sure.
I am part way though radiotherapy now and it has been a long journey but I am still walking !
Thank you very much I feel like the decision to get chemotherapy first is the right one now. I haven't been sleeping worrying about the decision Thank you.
I’m having chemo first for HER2+ breast cancer - the oncologist said they do that to shrink the tumour and stop it spreading - if you have surgery first then you have to wait longer for the chemo and herceptin so there’s great chance it will spread
My tumour was large - 6cm - and after 3 rounds of TCHP it’s gone - as in I can’t feel it at all. I don’t like the idea of waiting for surgery - and every other breast cancer patient expresses surprise at this - but apparently it has a better outcome for HER2+ patients.
