What a shock on the 7th Feb to find out the news I had my surgery on the 14th Feb, soooo lucky to be done so quick, not a lot of time to dwell on things. I have been told I have a grade 2 IDC and only 1 lymph was involved. I have seen the radiologist oncologist yesterday and lucky I had joined this group thanks to the BC nurse, and had done some research before I went to the appointment. Wow the charges. I did ask about public for this bit and was told that you have to wait, don't get a specialist etc etc,like to know more from anybody who has had it done on the northern Gold Coast. I asked her about the survival rate for my age, and as I had surgery it was 82% , with chemo only another 2% hormone therapy is 3% at 5 years, My question is are all the side effects worth it to have chemo if that is suggested to me, as I am not a well person anyways, have other health issues. I see the chemo oncologist on Tuesday, then doing more research before making a decision. Any feedback would be extremely helpful. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and good luck with your journey.what are the show popular tags mean ?? at the bottom

Hi @Berchel14 Just a quick note on public vs private. I'm not in your area (I went to Mater Springfield) but I did my chemo and radiation in a private hospital as a public patient. A lot of doctors work in both sectors. I saw the same consultant for every treatment as I would have seen paying privately. You absolutely get a specialist consultant oncologist and radonc and there was no waiting time.I remember seeing people pay their accounts for radiation and nearly choked overhearing the prices. Deciding on chemo or not is never easy. Have a chat to the onc and see what they say then you will be in a better position to decide. I think when nodes are involved they will generally recommend it. I had 5 nasty ones so chemo was pretty much a must do and the added benefit was %11. They'll take into consideration your age and any other health problems also. Ask a zillion questions lovely.xoxoxoxoxo

Just a comment on those overheard prices. I have gone private for both chemo and radiation to get the Dr I wanted and for convenience. My chemo didn’t cost me anything because of Private health cover and my med. oncologist works on a no gap basis. Radiation is costing me though. I have to pay the full amount up front (which is probably what you heard quoted and made you nearly choke @kezmusc 😳😂) but the 80% Medicare rebate is put in my acct overnight which brings it right down. All up 6 weeks of radiation is costing a bit under $3000 but we chose that to minimise the inconvenience and stress of hours of travel each week and hopefully minimise any fatigue. Hope that gives some help with making a decision @Berchel14. Hope you are able to find a good balance between your treatment and the limitations of the lupus. Btw 3 weeks in to radiation and no fatigue worth mentioning. Exercising is a big help there 😘

Basically what I’m saying is there is little to no difference except sitting about waiting a bit longer. If this is going to annoy you and you can afford the out of pocket gap if there is one, head to the private. If not, go public, same treatment same radiation therapists. I live really close to GCUH so getting to and from isn’t an issue but if you have to travel from Tugun for example to then have to wait maybe 45 minutes a few times, private makes more sense. Most of my waits were less than 10 minutes :) @HunnyB

Hi @Berchel14,"Your surgeon or medical oncologist may talk to you about gene profile tests such as Oncotype DX, Prosigna, EndoPredict or MammaPrint. " https://www.bcna.org.au/understanding-breast-cancer/treatment/surgery/breast-cancer-pathology/Depending on your pathology report and other factors, might it be worthwhile doing one of the genomic assay tests?I did Oncotype DX. The result indicated that chemo was of less than 1% benefit and not worth the side effects for me.Also, check again re public vs private. You can save your money and go public from now on for radiation therapy and medical oncology etc. I went through the public surgery, radiotherapy and now medical oncology system. My surgeon does both public and private work. She leaves one day per week free for her public patients, so I did not have to wait long after my diagnosis. 10 days.All the best. x

Dear @Berchel14 Some specific advice in light of your other health issues would be useful. My breast surgeon, when I asked about having chemo, properly referred me to my oncologist (who was in no doubt!). However my surgeon did say that ‘even if it only adds one or two points to increase the chances of non-recurrence, that’s important’. BUT it does depend on what your other health issues are and what chemo may (or may not) do to exacerbate those issues. So worth knowing what chemo regimes are being considered, why those and what impact they may have on you at this time, before making a decision. Best wishes.

Hi I have just been diagnosed | BCNA Online Network

17 Replies

ChezaH
Member
6 years ago
god luck for tomorrow
HunnyB
Member
6 years ago
Thanks @youngdogmum
I suffer from anxiety and for me sitting in waiting rooms is one of my triggers. So will see on Monday what my out of pocket expenses are & if I can afford it maybe go private.
enjoy your weekend 😉
youngdogmum
Member
6 years ago
Basically what I’m saying is there is little to no difference except sitting about waiting a bit longer. If this is going to annoy you and you can afford the out of pocket gap if there is one, head to the private. If not, go public, same treatment same radiation therapists. I live really close to GCUH so getting to and from isn’t an issue but if you have to travel from Tugun for example to then have to wait maybe 45 minutes a few times, private makes more sense. Most of my waits were less than 10 minutes :) @HunnyB
youngdogmum
Member
6 years ago
@HunnyB if it’s several thousand dollars definately not... a few hundred maybe? GCUH was fine otherwise. If you’ve got no out of pocket which is quite unusual as private health doesn’t cover all of it from what friends have told me, then sure go to the private :)
HunnyB
Member
6 years ago
Hi @youngdogmum
I had my first appointment with Icon at GCUH this week. Fortunately I don’t need chemo just 3 weeks radiation. I do have private health which will cover me for radiation. I didn’t know Gold Coast Private was even an option for radiation which is odd because that’s where my surgery was done. After your experience with Icon & visiting the dept at Gold Coast Private, if you had the choice would you still go to GCUH. Sorry to ask this but I’m still very overwhelmed by it all.
xx
eightdays
Member
6 years ago
Thinking of you and hoping for the best as you navigate all this. Eightdays.
ChezaH
Member
6 years ago

kamada said:

Just a comment on those overheard prices. I have gone private for both chemo and radiation to get the Dr I wanted and for convenience. My chemo didn’t cost me anything because of Private health cover and my med. oncologist works on a no gap basis. Radiation is costing me though. I have to pay the full amount up front (which is probably what you heard quoted and made you nearly choke @kezmusc 😳😂) but the 80% Medicare rebate is put in my acct overnight which brings it right down. All up 6 weeks of radiation is costing a bit under $3000 but we chose that to minimise the inconvenience and stress of hours of travel each week and hopefully minimise any fatigue. Hope that gives some help with making a decision @Berchel14. Hope you are able to find a good balance between your treatment and the limitations of the lupus. Btw 3 weeks in to radiation and no fatigue worth mentioning. Exercising is a big help there 😘

thank you appreciate all the advice I am getting It blows your mind a bit LOL
ChezaH
Member
6 years ago

kezmusc said:

Hi @Berchel14

Just a quick note on public vs private. I'm not in your area (I went to Mater Springfield) but I did my chemo and radiation in a private hospital as a public patient. A lot of doctors work in both sectors.
I saw the same consultant for every treatment as I would have seen paying privately. You absolutely get a specialist consultant oncologist and radonc and there was no waiting time.
I remember seeing people pay their accounts for radiation and nearly choked overhearing the prices.

Deciding on chemo or not is never easy. Have a chat to the onc and see what they say then you will be in a better position to decide. I think when nodes are involved they will generally recommend it. I had 5 nasty ones so chemo was pretty much a must do and the added benefit was %11. They'll take into consideration your age and any other health problems also. Ask a zillion questions lovely.

xoxoxoxoxo

Thank you
ChezaH
Member
6 years ago
thank you
jennyss
Member
6 years ago
Dear @Berchel14,
Great info above, and I'm sure there will be more valuable advice, so I will just say

from jennyss in Western NSW