Hi all
i have my oncology appt soon. In my mind I feel I “want” the adjuvant therapy as it seems to give better stats than monitoring only. Less than 5% from 20 -25% without for a recurrence based on my reading here and elsewhere. My St1 tumour was 37mm and I can’t find anything definitive for the uk for criteria for post op treatment.
i am into my 50’’’s and feel I would cope with a single shot now better than if I were to relapse and need a more heavy duty therapy when some years older. I think I would feel everything had been done if I did have the adjuvant therapy now rather than not…
Clearly the Drs have a duty to not treat someone when they don’t “need” it but I am asking if anyone had a similar. situation and had a dialogue with their consultant to make their feeling clear and if they did include the patients views in the treatment plan?
not sure how that all reads but it made some sense as I wrote it 
thank you
Hello Topcat23
I hope you don't mind me replying as I had a different type of cancer to you but by doing so it should bump your post back to the top. Hopefully someone will then see it and respond.
I had adjuvant treatment after my cancer surgery- for me it was chemo followed by pelvic radiotherapy. For me it was too risky not to go ahead but they did definitely take my feelings into account. I also felt like you it was better to have it while I was younger rather than wait for a potential recurrence and then not cope so well or have other problems by then. I also felt that by having it I know that I have done everything I can to prevent it coming back. I would find it difficult if I had not had any adjuvant treatment and then had a recurrence. I would always be wondering what if?
I think the best thing to do is to prepare for the appointment by doing your research, maybe write down some questions you want to talk about, even speak with your GP or CNS and then you will have all the information to make the decision. I would advise against using Google as a lot of it is not accurate. Make sure any information you use to make your decision is from a source you can trust eg; macmillan, cancer research etc. If it would help, give the Support Line a call and speak with one of the nurses who will be used to talking about making treatment decisions.
It may also be an idea to find out if you did have chemo- what regime/drugs it would be. Then you would be able to talk through potential side effects etc. There are so many different types and regimes of chemo and they can affect people differently.
I had adjuvant chemo and although it has left me with some long term effects, for me it was still worth doing.
I suppose really that it is looking at the positives, understanding any potential risks/side effects and then talking things through and coming to a decision with your consultant .However, I am sure that they will take your wishes into account.
Hopefully someone in a similar situation will now see your post and be able to offer you further support.
Good Luck, what ever you decide to do
Jane
